Grade 6 student saves choking classmate

A lesson learned at school saved a life Thursday.

“This could have ended really badly,” said Mary Elizabeth Rousseau, a Grade 6 teacher at École Ste-Thérèse.

Her student, Tony Elsoury, was choking on his pasta during lunch hour.

“So I get up to ask the teacher if I can use the bathroom, and before I even found the teacher, I found I couldn't breathe,” said Elsoury.

After a few futile attempts to swallow, panic started to set in.

“I ran into the class because I remembered that our teacher taught us first aid, so we should know this,” he explained.

Elsoury turned around and gestured to the seven others in the classroom at the time.

“We didn't know if he was really choking or just joking around but we realized he was choking when his face started turning red and there was spit coming down his mouth,” said classmate Zane Bassam, who jumped into action.

“My friend (Zane) told me to go run and get a teacher, so immediately went to go run and get a teacher,” said classmate Dominic Vitale.

Bassam took it upon himself to help his friend by performing first aid.

“I kind of panicked, but I just rushed straight ahead because I didn't want it to get any worse, so first I started by doing five back blows,” Bassam explained.

When that didn’t work, he turned to the Heimlich Maneuver.

“It was successful and then he started throwing up,” said Bassam.

Elsoury was fine and went home for the rest of the day, thankful his teacher Mme. Rousseau taught the class first aid.

“I feel like if she didn't teach us, this I could have been a lot worse,” Elsoury said.

When she arrived, relief and pride overwhelmed Mme. Rousseau, “Incredibly happy Tony was okay, but also incredibly proud of my students for jumping into action, for putting into place the training they had learned.”

Mme. Rousseau is certified through the Red Cross babysitting program and taught her Grade 6s, “So that they can be confident and competent with basic first aid and know what to do in a situation like this.”

Olivia Drouillard, an instructor at Second Chance CPR, advises calling 911 and making some noise if you find yourself alone in a choking situation. Unlock your door or go outside where others may be able to help.

She said some other things could help as well, “You're either going to fall on the top of a table, on a chair, or use an inanimate object like a water bottle and perform self-performed j-thrusts.”

For his heroic gesture, Bassam has been nominated for a Red Cross Rescuers Award.