Heimlich Maneuver learned in school saves mom's life

By Kirk Barron
Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.

MARYSVILLE, Calif. — Irene Guzman was eating dinner on Aug. 15 when a piece of chicken lodged in her throat. Unable to breathe or communicate, the fast reactions of her children, Alfonso Fernandez, 16, and Araceli Fernandez, 12, likely saved her life.

Araceli called 911 and alerted Alfonso, who was in his bedroom. Alfonso rushed to his mother to perform the Heimlich maneuver, which he learned nearly three years ago as an eighth-grader in Karen Dahlen's First Aid and CPR class at Andros Karperos School.

"They were my superheroes," Guzman said. "It was really scary thinking that I was going to be gone and they were going to be left all alone."

Guzman credited Dahlen's class for giving Alfonso the training and confidence to perfectly perform the Heimlich maneuver that cleared her throat. Paramedics arrived a short time later and examined Guzman, who did not have any bruising or broken ribs.

"They asked him how he knew what to do, and he told them he learned it at AK School in the eighth-grade health class," Guzman said. "He remembered exactly how to do it."

Alfonso, now a junior at River Valley High School, said he did not have to think about what to do. He just reacted to the situation.

The steps were second nature after going through training in Dahlen's class. First they watched a video about the Heimlich, then Dahlen demonstrated it, and they practiced on life-sized CPR dolls.

"They train you pretty well. I just started doing it," Alfonso said. "I didn't realize how serious it was until I saw her panicking."

Araceli is in seventh grade at AK School and plans on taking the class next year when she is old enough. She, too, said she reacted on instinct to call 911 and grab her brother when she realized her mother was in danger.

Dahlen, who teaches science at AK School, started the class about five years ago as one of the school's elective courses. The course is a semester long, so two classes of eighth-graders take it each school year.

At the end of the semester, the students take a test to become CPR and First Aid certified through the American Red Cross, Dahlen said.

"I tell the kids the reason why we do it is not because I expect them to go out and save some stranger at the mall. It's important to be trained because something could happen at home," Dahlen said.

Even the students who do not receive their certification learn valuable skills that can help in emergency situations, which is why Dahlen went out and became a licensed CPR instructor through the Red Cross and put together the program using National Safety Council curriculum.

"It's not watered down. If anything, we spend more time on it because they are eighth-graders," Dahlen said.

The program is the only one of its kind in Yuba City Unified School District, and Dahlen said she cried when her principal, Lee McPeak, called her to tell her about her former student's actions.

"When you're a teacher, you sometimes don't know how far reaching the things you do in class are," Dahlen said. "This is definitely an amazing moment."

McPeak said the idea for the class came from Dahlen after the district created space in the class master schedule for electives. He asked his staff to dig deep and find a passion for something great for the kids.

"I'm proud of Karen, and I think her vision for the program is fantastic," McPeak said. "When Irene called me, I can tell you that I left that phone call incredibly moved. I couldn't be more proud of Alfonso and what he was able to do for his family.

Copyright 2016 the Appeal-Democrat

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