Heimlich Brothers is the third story from the thirteenth episode of Season 1, which aired on December 12, 1989 on CBS. It was briefly recapped on the Season One Highlights Special from May 8, 1990. It airs in syndication on Episode 191S: 911 Chatty Burglar; Heimlich Brothers.
Story[]
On April 24, 1989, Donna McEnany of the Camp Fire Organization was conducting a chapter of the course for second graders at Runnels School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The topic being covered that day was "I Can Handle a Real Emergency." Seven-year-old Kyle Wilkinson volunteered to role play a choking situation with Donna in front of the class. She then demonstrated the Heimlich Maneuver on him, instructing students when and how to administer the proper abdominal thrusts on a victim.
Kyle's mother, Caryl, picked him up after school. He was riding in the backseat of the van with his brother and sister, three-year-old twins Joshua and Jessica. He and Caryl chatted about his school day on the drive home. He was telling her how his classmates had thrown worms on their teacher when suddenly he noticed what Joshua was doing. "Mom, Joshua is choking! Stop the car!" he yelled.
Caryl looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Joshua was purple. She stopped the van and jumped out, and by the time she ran around to the passenger side, Kyle had already pulled him out of his car seat and was standing behind him on the side of the road, his arms wrapped around Joshua's small body as he attempted to do the Heimlich Maneuver. "Give him to me!" Caryl screamed at him. She didn't know why he was hugging Joshua like that. "No, Mama. I'm doing the right thing!" he cried as he administered abdominal thrusts. "You're hurting him! Give him to me!" He ignored her and continued administering thrusts. Suddenly a piece of candy popped out of Joshua's mouth. He started crying, and Caryl knew he was breathing on his own.
Within three hours of being taught the Heimlich Maneuver, Kyle had used it to save Joshua's life. "What's even more amazing," said his teacher, "is that Kyle took the situation into his own hands when his mother didn't know what to do." "I was surprised because everything worked out well," he said. "It makes me feel glad because Joshua is still alive, and I still get to play with him."
"I'm really proud of Kyle," said Caryl. "Not just because he saved Joshua's life, but because he's shown other people and other children that you can do something like this, you can help." She praises the Camp Fire Organization for their work. "I was so grateful that they taught Kyle the Heimlich Maneuver. They'd done something I really needed, something everybody needs to learn."
In other media[]
"Heimlich Brothers" is one of the 81 stories featured in the book Rescue 911: Extraordinary Stories by Linda Maron.
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