Teacher recognized for heroic action
COURTNEY BASS
The agenda for the Dec. 14 meeting contained a letter to Courtney Bass of Norwood Elementary School. It described the incident in which she aided a child who was choking on a chicken nugget. Anderson County Schools Director Tim Parrott read it at the meeting.
“It was brought to our attention that recently, during lunch, a student was eating a chicken nugget and began to silently choke,” the letter said.
“The student started pacing back and forth and was grabbing her throat when you observed her, noticing something was not right. Upon checking the student, you quickly realized the student was severely choking as the student could not speak or breathe.
“You immediately let a staff member know, who quickly ran to get the Life Vac Choking Rescue Device, and in the meantime, you used excellent judgment and administered the Heimlich maneuver.
“The Heimlich maneuver ended up being successful, and the Life Vac was ultimately not needed.
“Your recognition of the severity of the emergency and quick response to administering lifesaving measures, effectively utilizing the Heimlich maneuver, directly resulted in saving a child’s life. A failure to act or any delay in action in this situation may have very well led to a tragic outcome.
“We believe your action during this incident calls for special recognition; and we would like to express our appreciation for your selfless commitment to the care of all Anderson County students,” the letter stated.
“My main advice for people is just to stay calm,” she told The Courier News regarding situations like hers. “When you panic, you lose everything. You forget everything.”
She said she used training in first aid that the school system provided.
“I will say, thank God for his grace and his mercy because it’s just a situation where everything was perfectly timed,” she said. “ ... I was just in the right place at the right moment.
“I’m just thankful to be a teacher for Anderson County Schools and thankful to serve the kids in this county,” Bass said.