A third-grade teacher jumped into action when one of her students started to choke on a bottle cap after accidentally swallowing it and possibly saved his life by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
JaNeice Jenkins, a teacher at East Orange Community Charter School in East Orange, New Jersey, was leading a math class at around 11:15 a.m.
One of the students, attempting to open a plastic water bottle with his teeth, accidentally inhaled the cap as he squeezed the bottle, says Jenkins.
The student tried to spit out the cap from his airway on his own, but then realized it wasn't working and rushed over to Jenkins, signaling that he was choking.
"I didn't really think. I just acted," Jenkins told NJ Advance Media. "I saw he needed help and I just sprung into action to help him. He couldn't breathe, his face was pretty pale and he had a look of desperation on his face."
Jenkins, who was trained in first aid and CPR previously as a preschool teacher, performed the Heimlich maneuver.
"He ran to me and couldn't talk so he was pointing at his throat," Jenkins said. "Then I just went to deliver the Heimlich maneuver and luckily it popped out and he was okay."
"Once he was safe, I got him to the nurse and I felt 100% better. Then my emotions got the best of me in hindsight of what could've happened. Thank God, I was able to do what I did. This is the first time I ever did the (Heimlich maneuver) for real. I'm glad it worked."