The speedy responses of Paducah Middle School students and staff saved a student from choking during lunch yesterday.
Paducah Middle sixth grader Jenna Lumbley was eating lunch when some food got stuck in her throat.
“It was obviously scary,” said Lumbley. “I could tell that I was choking. It was pretty easy to spot.”
Jenna’s friend, Tabitha Donaldson, recognized that Jenna was choking and jumped into action.
“I saw Jenna choking so I tried to do the Heimlich maneuver then I started banging on her back but that didn’t work so I ran to get Ms. Stewart,” Donaldson said.
At the same time English teacher Hope Morris realized that Jenna was choking and ran to her and began performing the Heimlich maneuver.
“Tabitha was trying to help Jenna,” said Morris. “At first I wasn’t sure what was going on. Then I realized that Jenna was choking so I took off running, looked at her, and asked if she could breathe. She shook her head ‘no’. I started to do the Heimlich on her but was not successful. That’s when Mr. Davis took over and got it dislodged.”
Art Davis, who serves on the administrative staff at Paducah Middle, said that he had used the Heimlich maneuver before when a family member was choking so he knew what to do.
“I was comfortable that I could do it because I had done it before,” said Davis. “Really that’s all I was thinking about- getting over there and getting the food out. But it was Ms. Morris who alerted me. When I saw her running across the cafeteria, I knew she was running for a reason. I knew it could be done-it was just the time factor of getting to her as quickly as possible.”
Paducah Middle School gave Tabitha the “Hero” Award in appreciation of her immediate efforts to help Jenna.
According to the National Safety Council, in 2021 choking was the fourth leading cause of death when looking at deaths caused by unintentional injury. If you’re not aware of how to administer the Heimlich maneuver, we’ve posted an instructional video on our Safety and Security page: www.paducah.kyschools.us/page/safety-and-security
Photo caption, l to r: Hope Morris, Tabitha Donaldson, Jenna Lumbley, Art Davis