By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-19 21:46:39 | Updated at 2025-01-01 16:26:58
1 week ago
Video footage has captured the heroic moment a brave third grader saved his classmate from choking on a grape.
Eight-year-old Thomas Conley was sitting next to Isaiah Rodriguez in Porter Elementary School's cafeteria in Mesa, Arizona, when he noticed something was terribly wrong.
'I heard him crying, so just like, what's wrong? And for a second I didn't know what what he was doing,' Conley told 12News.
'But finally I realized that he was choking, so I just decided to do the Heimlich.'
Without hesitation - and before any adults could even notice the emergency - Thomas leaped into action, performing the life-saving Heimlich maneuver that saved his classmate from choking on a grape.
'It's because that I don't want Isaiah to die,' Conley explained.
Porter Elementary School Principal Kathy Ray only heard about the incident after school when Isaiah's mom asked to see the video footage.
Thomas Conley was sitting next to Isaiah Rodriguez in Porter Elementary School's cafeteria in Mesa, Arizona , when he noticed something was terribly wrong
Without hesitation - and before any adults could even notice the emergency - Thomas leaped into action, performing the life-saving Heimlich maneuver that saved his classmate from choking on a grape
Ray was shocked by what she saw - and especially emotional as it comes seven years after a student died of choking in the same cafeteria.
'I had to just keep watching it, it was incredible,' she told the outlet. 'It was very emotional because seven years to the same month - almost to the day - we did have a student, a special needs student, choke in our cafeteria that did not make it.'
Thomas wasn't even sitting in his usual spot that day - but his presence turned out to be life-saving for Isaiah.
Additionally, the incident happened to occur the day after Conley's mother discussed what to do in the tragic case someone is choking.
'Just last night at the dinner table we were talking about how easy it is to choke on grapes,' Ray recalled Conley's mother saying. 'And that's just like - every hair on my body stood up.'
The brave third grader is now being hailed as a hero. Local firemen came to graduate Conley at a ceremony at the school on Tuesday
Thomas simply told the crowd, 'You shouldn't be scared to help somebody'
The brave third grader is now being hailed as a hero. Local firemen came to congratulate Conley at a ceremony at the school on Tuesday.
The Mesa Fire Department honored the young boy with a certificate of appreciation for his 'heroic actions.'
Thomas simply told the crowd, 'You shouldn't be scared to help somebody.'
