Brother’s love: Incredible video shows 12-year-old Massachusetts girl saving her twin brother’s life by performing a Heimlich maneuver after he choked on a piece of cheese in the school cafeteria ‘school
- Charlie Loverme, 12, was eating in the cafeteria at Leicester Middle School on Friday when he started choking on a piece of mozzarella.
- Her twin sister, Amelia, saw what was happening and calmly performed the Heimlich maneuver, saving her panicked brother.
- Charlie told CBS News he thought he was “going to die”; his sister said stepping in to save him was ‘just an instinct’
A 12-year-old girl has been praised for her quick-wittedness after she calmly performed the Heimlich maneuver on her twin brother who was choking in the school cafeteria, potentially saving his life.
Charlie Loverme, 12, was eating a piece of mozzarella inside Leicester Middle School in Massachusetts on Friday when the cheese got stuck.
He can be seen staggering around the cafeteria, under the shocked and horrified gaze of the other children.
The boy said CBS News he thought: “I am going to die.”
Charlie added: “It’s just scary and you just don’t know what’s going to happen next and it’s really scary.”
Amelia Loverme is pictured with her twin brother Charlie. The 12-year-old saved her twin brother as he choked on Friday
Some of their classmates ran and hid, not knowing what to do, but her sister Amelia saw what was happening and got up to help.
“They were all pretty scared and they didn’t know what to do,” she said.
She can be seen standing behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest and helping to dislodge the trapped food.
Amelia said she hadn’t been formally trained, but guessed what to do.
“It was just instinct,” she said.
“I didn’t really know what to do, I just felt like I had to help her.”
Charlie can be seen standing, grabbing his mouth as he begins to choke
He staggers across the room, thrashing his legs, and his sister Amelia leaps up to help him.
Amelia can be seen wrapping her arms around her waist and performing the Heimlich maneuver
Amelia helps Charlie, who said he thought he was going to die
Jason Loverme, father of Amelia and Charlie, said he was proud that she remembered what it took to help her
Amelia (right) said it was ‘instinct’ that stepped in to show her how to save Charlie (left)
Their father, Jason Loverme, said he was incredibly proud of Amelia’s reaction.
He said they shared the story to encourage others to learn the maneuver.
“I would say: talk to kids about life-saving things like this,” he said.
“Whether you think it’s registering or not, they can turn it off, but clearly something registered and she called it back when she needed it.”
He said you never know when you might need to step in.
“If you can help someone and you can react whether you’re nervous or not, you should,” he said.
Amelia got recognition from the school committee this week, and the police chief will work with the district attorney to get Amelia an award as well.
