An eight-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero after saving the life of his friend who was choking to death in his primary school cafeteria.
Thomas Conley, a second-grader at Porter Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona, sprang into action when he noticed his friend was choking on a grape, according to local reports.
Conley immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver, also known as an abdominal thrust, on Isaiah Rodriguez to remove the grapes.
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Mesa Public Schools praised Conley on social media after the heroic moment that occurred on Nov. 14.
An eight-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero after saving the life of his friend who was choking to death in his primary school cafeteria. (Candice Conley/Mesa Public Schools)
“Thanks to Thomas' quick thinking, Isaiah was able to breathe normally again. Thank you, Thomas, for your courage and for being a true hero!”
Thomas' mother, Candace Conley, spoke to Fox News Digital about her son's lifesaving actions.
“We're so proud of him,” she said. “Thomas is very quick-witted, active and a really good friend.”
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Conley said her family often talks about food safety and kitchen safety at home, as she and her husband work in the food industry and now work for the Maricopa County Public Health Department.
“I think a lot of people, maybe even adults, don't realize that someone is choking,” she says. “Thomas knew that to get rid of the grapes, you had to let air in.”
Thomas Conley (right) saved his friend Isaiah Rodriguez (left) from choking on a grape in the school cafeteria. (Candice Conley)
The parents of Rodriguez, the boy Thomas Conley saved, are “very grateful,” Conley told Fox News Digital.
“When I met his mother for the first time, I just hugged her,” she said. “More than anything, we are so grateful that Isaiah is safe.”
“Thomas is very quick-witted, active and a really good friend.”
“I'm so grateful and I want him to know how proud I am of him and how grateful I am,” Isaiah's mother, Maria Anderson, said in a video posted by the Mesa Fire and Medical Department. “I did it,” he said. “He and my son have been friends for many years.”
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Conley said Thomas was “very calm” about what happened.
“He was like, 'My friend needs help, so I helped him,'” she said.
At Porter Elementary School, a meeting was held with first responders from the Mesa Fire and Medical Department who recognized Thomas' bravery and presented him with a certificate in front of his peers. (Candice Conley)
“It's so great that Thomas can be involved in that and raise awareness about choking because it could have been really bad that day.”
“I've probably never gotten so much attention in my life,” Thomas told Fox News Digital.
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Porter Elementary School held an assembly last week with first responders from the Mesa Fire and Medical Department, who recognized Thomas' bravery and presented him with a certificate in front of his peers.
Thomas Conley is pictured with the Mesa Fire Chief who recognized the boy's heroic act. (Candice Conley)
The Mesa Fire and Medical Department also recognized Thomas on its Facebook page.
“Thomas turned an ordinary lunchtime into an extraordinary act of courage that made a huge difference,” they wrote. “Seeing his friend in pain, Thomas wasted no time in taking action and saving Isaiah's life from a choking accident. Let us also praise this young hero. Thomas, you… It inspires us to be courageous and act quickly.”
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Introduced by Dr. Henry Heimlich in 1975, the Heimlich Maneuver is recommended as a first-line treatment for airway obstruction by the American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.
Studies have shown that in cases of choking, this procedure has a success rate of over 86%.
