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Carmel elementary school teacher saves student from choking on sucker

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — Another day in the classroom turned out to be an unforgettable one for an elementary school student in Carmel.

The 9-year-old boy told 24-Hour News 8 he was choking on a sucker when his teacher saved his life.

Aiden Lemme is in fourth grade at Prairie Trace Elementary. He enjoys going to school and playing with friends. But said he nearly died last February.

“It was Friday the day of our school carnival and we were having a store,” he said. “I bought a sucker tiger pop and when I was sucking on it and it came off the hook.”

Aiden was coloring at his desk when he began choking on the sucker. He said he walked up to the front of the classroom to get his teacher’s attention.

“I was at the back table working with a group of students and I looked up he had come to the table,” said Beth Peasley, teacher. “His face was bright red kind of started to turn a little purplish.”

Aiden signaled to his teacher, Mrs. Peasley that something was wrong. Mrs. Peasley said she had no time to think and performed the Heimlich Maneuver.

“I really looked at him and I thought oh my gosh this cannot be happening and I have to act fast,” she said. “Because you could tell he was panic the look on his face.”

Mrs. Peasley performed Heimlich  not once or twice, but six times before the sucker came out.

“I can barely breath I kept saying oh my God oh my God oh my God,” said Aiden.

Feeling relieved that her student is OK; Mrs. Peasley said she credits her first aid training.

“You’re trained for all of these scenarios but you never think it’s really going to happen in your classroom,” she said.

Mrs. Peasley said she does not consider herself a hero, just a teacher doing her job. Aiden’s mother could not be more grateful.

“It’s truly one of those emergencies you could never anticipate but you have to be poise and ready for and she did everything perfectly,” said Kari Lemme, Aiden’s mom.

Kari Lemme received a phone call from the principal about the emergency and got to school fast.

“I just cried. I just wanted to hug him and hug Mrs. Peasley it was so scary,” said Kari Lemme.

Despite the scare, Aiden told his mom he wanted to return to class.

“I told him we can call it quits and I’ll take you for ice cream, kind of take off the rest of day,” said Kari Lemme. “He said no I got a friend coming over after school today and if I leave with you he can’t come.”

Aiden had a sore throat after what happened. He’s now trained to perform the Heimlich Maneuver along with his older brother and sister. He said he only had one sucker since then.