A second grade teacher at Raynard Elementary became a hero when she saved the life of 7-year-old Anderson who began choking on a gummy bunny during a typical snack time in her classroom. Mrs. Hoffman noticed immediately that something was wrong when the student stopped responding verbally and could only shake his head.
When she approached Anderson and asked if he was okay, he could not speak and could only gesture. She asked if he could breathe, and he shook his head no. That was when she decided she had to spring into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver on the choking child.
The life-saving intervention was remarkably quick. Within about three thrusts of the Heimlich maneuver, the gummy bunny came right out. School staff noted that the speed of the response was critical, as choking situations can turn fatal within minutes. By the time anyone else could have reached the classroom, it could have been a different story.
Mrs. Hoffman credits the school's annual training sessions conducted by the nurses for giving her the confidence and knowledge to act quickly in the emergency. The training, which all staff undergo regularly, proved to be the difference between life and tragedy in this instance.
Colleagues described Mrs. Hoffman's demeanor during and after the incident as calm, cool, and collected. She later told staff matter-of-factly that Anderson had choked and she gave him the Heimlich and he was fine. She explained that she deliberately stayed as calm as possible for her students because children feed off adult energy and she did not want to scare them.
A week after the incident, Anderson's grateful mother visited the school to say thank you in person. The family brought Chick-fil-A gift cards, which Anderson knew was his teacher's favorite, along with a small necklace to commemorate the life-saving moment. The gesture touched Mrs. Hoffman deeply.
Anderson himself took a valuable lesson from the experience, telling reporters that he planned to not chew gummy candy so fast anymore. The incident serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of emergency response training for all school staff and the critical role teachers play beyond academics in protecting the children in their care.