BEDFORD, MI (Toledo News Now ) - Two lunch aids at Temperance Road Elementary School in Bedford are being recognizing by the school for saving the life of a choking girl.
"It was just, we were at the right place at the right time," said Nancy Brancheau.
The school cafeteria was filled with 75 kindergartners, about 50 more than Kate Schmus and Brancheau are used to. Suddenly Arianna Haaser walked up Schmus with a problem.
"She kind of threw up next to me and I looked at her and I said, 'Are you getting sick?' and she just kind of looked at me and I thought, 'Are you choking?' She was still coughing a bit and she just kind of looked at me and didn't say anything, so I gave the back blows and I turned around and got in front of her to tell her to keep coughing and she took a deep breath in and that was it, it just lodged," said Schmus.
Brancheau acted on instinct. They knew what to do thanks to a refresher course in First Aid two weeks prior to the start of school.
"Kate yelled, 'Nancy, Heimlich!' and I just wrapped my arms around her and I did the Heimlich and, I couldn't even tell you how many times I did it, and out come the hot dog and she was fine," said Brancheau.
The two women were honored by the school board for the heroism. They say they were just doing their job.
"You always think when you're taking the, or at least I always think when I take that training, 'I'm never going to need it, I'm never going to remember it.' and it's just, it's just there, you just know," said Schmus.
"We didn't even really expect to be recognized because we were just doing our job. You know, that's what we're trained to do and we go to our job everyday just like they're here for their school board meeting and, it was just another day," said Brancheau.
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Nancy Brancheau
Kate Schmus
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