St. Cecelia School praises student, staff who saved boys from choking

by Sergio Bichao on May 6th | Email

Principal Sister Margaret Mary Hanlonipal presents certificate to 1st grade teacher Maureen O'Brien, Samantha Budzyn, 5, and aide Debra Tavormina. (Staff photo: Joe McLaughlin)

Some of the children at St. Cecelia School in Iselin are too young to be able to even read the words “Heimlich maneuver,” much less perform it. They’re not, however, too young to know when a classmate is in trouble and how to call for help.

About a month ago on the same day, a kindergartner and a 3-year-old boy at lunch began choking.

Thanks to the quick thinking of 5-year-old Samantha Budzyn, teacher Maureen O’Brien and school aide Debra Tavormina, the two boys were saved.

“Had they had not been paying attention to others, this could have had a very different outcome,” principal Sister Margaret Mary Hanlon, M.P.F., told the school during an assembly Thursday. Hanlon surprised the three heroes with congratulatory certificates and praise.

“Because of you our school is a better place to learn. You have proven to me by your actions that one person can make a difference,” Hanlon said as students cheered.

Samantha said she was “happy” to get the certificate. She remembers her classmate crying, turning red and putting his hands to his throat.

“I went up to Ms. O’Brien and I told her that he was choking so she came down and took him,” she said.

O’Brien learned the Heimlich maneuver – which is done by wrapping your arms around a victim’s waist and thrusting your fists upward to push air out - about 20 years ago and has used it once, on her mother at home. The boy she helped had gotten corn chips lodged in his throat.

Tavormina helped a 3-year-old choking on an apple slice. It was also her first time helping a choking child.

“As usual, they had their snack and I always keep my eyes peeled,” she said. “I noticed Steven was turning red and basically there was no air coming through. You could just tell. My mother instinct went in and I did what I had to do.”

Hanlon said some of her staff is trained to administer first aid. More importantly, students are taught to call for help as soon as they see someone in trouble.

Most non-fatal choking incidents, and 41 percent of fatal cases involving children under 14, are caused by food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC found that 160 children died from choking and 17,537 were admitted to an emergency room in the year 2000.

The organization encourages adults to do exactly what the St. Cecelia teachers did: keep a watchful eye on children eating or playing and learn how to provide early treatment.