Sibling love: Incredible video shows Massachusetts girl, 12, saves her twin brother’s life by performing Heimlich maneuver after he choked on a piece of cheese in the school cafeteria
- Charlie Loverme, 12, was eating in the school cafeteria at Leicester Middle School on Friday when he started choking on a piece of mozzarella
- His twin sister, Amelia, saw what happened and calmly performed the Heimlich maneuver, saving her panicked sibling.
- Charlie told CBS News that he thought he was “going to die”; his sister said intervening to save him was “just instinct.”
A 12-year-old girl is praised for her quick thinking skills after calmly performing the Heimlich maneuver on her choking twin brother in the school cafeteria, potentially saving his life.
Charlie Loverme, 12, was eating a piece of mozzarella at Leicester Middle School in Massachusetts on Friday when the cheese got stuck.
You can see him stumbling through the cafeteria, while the other kids watch in shock and horror.
The boy told CBS news he thought, “I’m going to die.”
Charlie added, “It’s just scary and you just don’t know what’s going to happen next and it’s just really scary.”
Amelia Loverme is pictured with her twin brother Charlie. The 12-year-old saved her twin brother when he was choking on Friday
Some of their classmates ran and hid, unsure what to do, but his sister Amelia saw what was happening and got up to help.
“They were all pretty scared and didn’t know what to do,” she said.
You can see her standing behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest and helping to loosen the stuck food.
Amelia said she was not formally trained, but guessed what to do.
“It was just instinct,” she said.
“I wasn’t sure what to do, I just felt I had to help him.”
Charlie can be seen grabbing his mouth as he begins to choke
He staggers across the room, swinging his legs, and his sister Amelia jumps up to help
Amelia can be seen wrapping her arms around his waist and performing the Heimlich maneuver
Amelia helps Charlie, who said he thought he was going to die
Jason Loverme, Amelia and Charlie’s father, said he was proud she remembered what she had to do to help him
Amelia (right) said it was “instinct” that kicked in to show her how to save Charlie (left)
Their father, Jason Loverme, said he was incredibly proud of how Amelia reacted.
He said they shared the story to encourage others to learn the maneuver.
“I’d say talk to the kids about these kinds of life-saving things,” he said.
“Whether you think it’s being recorded or not, they can turn it off, but obviously something was recorded and she remembered it when she needed it.”
He said you never know when to intervene.
“If you can help someone and you can respond whether you’re nervous or not, you should,” he said.
Amelia received recognition from the school committee this week and the police chief will work with the district attorney to get Amelia an award as well.