Special to the Herald

Bobby Norwood, vice principal at White Middle School, saved sixth-grader Alexeis Perez while the student was choking on food and unable to breathe. The incident took place April 14.

“I was eating hamburgers, and I was rushing because the bell was about to ring,” said Perez. “I only had a little left of my first burger so I stuffed it all in my mouth. I felt myself just chewing on the bread, but I thought I was also chewing on the meat, so that’s why I tried to swallow the whole thing.”

When Perez swallowed, the partially chewed piece of burger and bread became lodged in his airway and obstructed his breathing. He attempted to cough the food up but was unable to. Perez stood up, swayed back and forth and tapped excitedly on his chest. He then grabbed a napkin and held it to his mouth.

Other students who were seated at the same table called for Norwood.

“I could clearly see that he couldn’t breath,” said Norwood, who instinctively recognized that as one of the universal signs of choking. “Then when I saw him fall on the table face first, almost passing out, I knew what had to be done. I reached around him and thought ‘Heimlich maneuver, Heimlich maneuver.’”

It took three attempts until a large piece of meat shot out from Perez.

Perez said he could not remember thinking any particular thoughts at the time. “I just wanted to breathe,” he said with a smile. The student felt a sense of relief and now views Norwood as his hero.

“I didn’t think what I did was a big deal,” Norwood said. “All I wanted was to make sure one of my kids was safe.”

Norwood learned the Heimlich maneuver while on active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Due to this occurrence, he was reminded of a time when he was stationed in Japan and saved a pregnant woman and her infant son from a burning car.