Quick thinking Landis cook saves choking student
A quick thinking cook at Landis School may have saved the life on Monday of a 12-year-old sixth grader choking on part of a grilled-cheese sandwich.
The cook, Carmen Pender, used the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the cheese from the throat of Marquise Cisrow after she noticed him holding his throat and signaling that he was choking, a motion he learned from his grandmother, Joan Cornish.
“The cheese was too sticky,” said Cisrow. “I swallowed it and it got stuck in my throat and I was choking. I was puttin
g my fingers down my throat. I could grip it but I couldn’t get it out. I stood up and started choking and I motioned for help. My eyes got really, really red, and my face got red.”
A male student came to Cisrow’s aid, but patting him vigorously on the back did not help. A female student then began to yell to others in the vicinity that the student was obviously in distress.
That’s when Pender swooped in, grabbing Cisrow under the rib cage and applying the Heimlich Maneuver.”
“I saw the commotion, but I didn’t see anyone go to help him,” she said. “I ran right away and started doing the Heimlich. He was slouching so much I couldn’t get up to his diaphragm.”
Dee Hampton, one of the school’s security staff, lifted Cisrow so Pender could do the lifesaving motion at the right angle. That’s when Cisrow expelled the cheese.
Remarkably, the student was examined by the school nurse, and after consultation with family, allowed to continue the rest of his day.
“I was just doing my job,” said Pender. “I was certified in cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a previous job. As a supervisor, I had to take the classes. I thought I would never use the training.”
“When I am in the cafeteria, these are ALL my kids,” said Pender. “I always look to see what they are doing and make sure they are not getting into trouble. They are my kids, and I love them.”
Asked if Pender was her hero, now, Cisrow gave an emphatic “yes.”
“The term hero is all too frequently used to describe sports figures and celebrities today who truly are not heroic,” said Donald Kohaut, Landis Principal. “The staff of Landis School has a true hero in its midst -- Carmen Pender. Without second thought she saved Marquise Cisrow by adeptly administered the Heimlich maneuver and dislodging the food blocking his windpipe. Words cannot express how proud I am of Carmen and how fortunate I feel that we are to have her on our staff.”
“The immediate response of Carmen may have saved this student’s life, and we are both relieved and tremendously proud of her,” said Chalky Ottinger, Superintendent of Schools.
Pender will be officially recognized for her heroism by the Vineland Board of Education at its Dec. 12 meeting, said Ottinger.