Airman saves young boy from choking

  • Published
  • By Corey Dahl
  • 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Janice Zarter and her three-year-old son, Sean, were on an ordinary shopping trip in December, when an ice cube changed everything.

Strolling the aisles of the base exchange, Mrs. Zarter had Sean sitting in the cart, snacking on some of the ice in his cup. Mrs. Zarter reminded him to, "Chew, chew, chew," the ice, she said, but, suddenly, he wasn't. Instead, Sean was choking on a piece of ice that had slipped down his throat.

Scared and not sure what to do, Mrs. Zarter froze and then started screaming for help.

"When you see your baby choking, you just scream," she said. "I've taken classes on first aid and CPR, but, right then, I didn't know what to do."

Fortunately, Tech. Sgt. Lamont Wood, a reservist with the 731st Airlift Squadron, was nearby talking to some colleagues. When he heard the screams for help, he sprang into action, performing a mini-Heimlich maneuver on Sean until he coughed up the ice cube.

"I heard her screaming, saw the kid choking and all I could think was, 'Free the airway. This kid needs to breathe,'" Sergeant Wood said.

Sean escaped the incident unscathed, and a grateful Mrs. Zarter thanked Sergeant Wood profusely. Sergeant Wood, however, said his actions weren't that extraordinary.

"I don't know how much I actually helped him," he said. "The ice cube could have just started melting and he coughed it out. I don't really know."

Yet, Master Sgt. Mike Phillips, who witnessed the whole incident, said he disagrees. While most of the other bystanders just stood by in shock, Sergeant Wood took action, and that deserves to be recognized, Sergeant Phillips said. Sergeant Phillips is now working on getting Sergeant Wood some kind of commendation for his actions.

"We have all kinds of heroes overseas," he said. "But we've got heroes here, too, and it's nice to recognize that sometimes."

Mrs. Zarter just hopes she'll never have to rely on Sergeant Wood's heroics again.

"My son is not allowed to chew on ice anymore," she said. "I told him, 'No more.'"

 

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