Teacher’s Quick Actions Save Student from Choking

A teacher from Long Island became a hero after performing the Heimlich maneuver on a 7-year-old student who choked on a gummy snack. The student expressed his gratitude with a thoughtful gift for his teacher.

It was a typical snack time in Alessia Hoffman’s second-grade class at Charles Reinhardt Early Childhood Center in Bellmore when, on January 6, young Anderson Forman got an Annie’s Sour Bunnies fruit snack lodged in his throat. Both Hoffman and Anderson recounted the scary moment to the Post.

“It was very scary,” Hoffman, 27, admitted. “I was nervous, but I tried to stay as calm as possible.”

As Hoffman noticed Anderson was unable to breathe or speak, she quickly checked in with him.

“He shook his head. He couldn’t verbally convey it to me, so I was a bit worried,” she recalled.

After attempting to pat him on the back without success, she realized the Heimlich maneuver was necessary. “I immediately got down and did it,” Hoffman described.

She acted fast, thrusting upward into Anderson’s abdomen three times.

“He’s small, he’s a kid, so when I sat on his lap, he quickly brought up the fruit snacks from earlier,” she explained.

Fortunately, Anderson swiftly recovered and resumed his cheerful demeanor. “He didn’t cry; he just laughed right after. That’s just him,” Hoffman praised.

This was actually Hoffman’s first time performing the Heimlich, but she credited her annual school training for helping her maintain composure during the crisis.

Anderson, unharmed, was grateful to Hoffman for her quick thinking. To show his appreciation, he and his family presented her with a gift card to Chick-fil-A and a necklace, knowing it was her favorite food.

“She’s a huge Chick-fil-A fan, and she saved my life,” Anderson remarked, noting he now wants to learn the Heimlich maneuver to help others in need.

“It shows you care about someone,” he added.

Despite the scare, Anderson mentioned he still enjoys eating Annie’s Sour Bunnies. However, his mother, Anna Forman, has decided against sending snacks to school from now on.

“As a parent, you want your children to be safe and protected at school. This incident really reinforced how well-cared for our kids are,” she reflected, adding that she felt immense gratitude for Hoffman’s swift actions.