'Remarkable' 12-Year-Old Boy Saves Friend’s Life After He Begins Choking at School: 'A Hero'
Newton Public School System Christian Swopes being presented the Superintendent's Coin of Distinction by Newton County Schools Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey
A 12-year-old Georgia boy is being hailed a "hero" after saving the life of a friend who began choking at school.
Liberty Middle School student Christian Swope was eating lunch on Wednesday when he realized that his friend couldn't breathe, according to a press release from Newton County Schools.
Swope, 12, immediately jumped into action and began performing the Heimlich maneuver on his friend until the food was successfully dislodged from his classmate's throat, the press release stated.
It was a life-saving technique that Swope told the school he had recently learned thanks to his Auntie, Mercy Aguilar.
"My Auntie is a nurse and she taught us how to do CPR and the Heimlich so I wasn't scared because I knew what to do," Swope explained in the release. "I feel good. And I feel proud of myself. When I got home my auntie called me a hero."
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According to Aguilar, she had taught Swope how to perform a variety of life-saving techniques within the last year — but never expected him to actually use them.
"I have a skeleton that I bought during nursing school so last year I taught my boys how to do different safety moves," Aguilar said in the release. "I was just so ecstatic and shocked when I found out. When you get a call from the school during the day you don't expect it to be good news."
"I was just speechless and absolutely proud when they told me what he did. He actually saved a life," she continued. "When I was teaching both of them the safety moves, I never in my wildest dreams thought they would ever put them to use. But he did. I'm absolutely proud of him. He actually got it and was effective using the maneuver."
After the incident, Newton County School System Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey met with Swope to thank him for his heroic actions — and to present him with her Superintendent's Coin of Distinction.
The prestigious coin is given to "selfless" individuals "who go above and beyond because it's the right thing to do" and who "demonstrate their commitment to others through their actions and words," Fuhrey said in the release.
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So far, Fuhrey has only awarded the coins a few times, including to a class of South Salem Elementary School students after they saved their teacher who had a medical emergency on the playground.
Fuhrey also presented a coin to a Henry County School student who comforted a high school baseball pitcher mid-game after his dad died unexpectedly from a medical emergency at a prior game.
Most notably, the superintendent awarded the coin to American civil rights legend, the late Dr. Frederick Douglas Reese, who was a member of Selma's "Courageous Eight."
And on Thursday morning, Swope officially joined the elite list of recipients.
In a short ceremony at Liberty Middle School, Fuhrey presented the 12-year-old with the prestigious coin beside Principal Keisa Vincent. The exciting moment was recorded on video and later shared on Newton County School's YouTube.
"Very few people receive the Superintendent's Coin of Distinction, but you get it because you're a hero," Fuhrey says in the clip. "You saved someone's life ... and that is most definitely worthy of the Superintendent's Coin of Distinction."
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"He's a remarkable young man," Fuhrey added in the release. "I am beyond proud of him. I reserve the Coin of Distinction for only the best of the best, and Christian definitely meets the criteria. ... I hope his coin serves as a reminder of just how extraordinary he is."
In a statement in the school's press release, Vincent echoed Fuhrey's sentiments.
"Christian stepped in and took charge of the situation and saved his friend's life," the principal said. "In a situation where many adults may have panicked, Christian was calm and knew what to do."
"To know how to do the Heimlich maneuver at 12 years old is amazing," Vincent added. "He's definitely a hero in my book."
