“She looked like she was suffocating, so I rolled onto her back and gave her the hemlic,” Shailene says.
She added: “I put my hand in my fist, then my other hand on it, then I pressed on his belly until the sausage coughed.”
Kira’s parents were grateful Shailene acted quickly to save their daughter’s life. “I’m so grateful for the lack of words,” said Noel Silvia, Kira’s mother.
Shailene learned the Heimlich maneuver technique at the Northboro Recreation Center where she participated in a program called Home Alone Safety.
“Shailyn took the Home Alone program which is run by UMass Memorial’s Smart Kids 101 program, completed it on Tuesday, April 30, and then saved another child’s life on Wednesday, May 1,” said Allison Lyn of the Northboro Rick Center.
After the accident, the two families have an important message for everyone.
“It’s really important to know that children are capable of doing more than what we give them,” Kira’s mother said.
Apparently, the girls will also have an incredible story to tell all their lives!
“Best friend I can really trust, I know I now have someone I can trust if I choke on a hot dog,” Kira said.
