‘Thank God for her’: Head Start director’s quick action saves choking child

/Gray News) - The director of a Head Start program in Goeriga is being hailed as a hero after stepping in to save a choking child during a family event.

The Details

The emergency unfolded Thursday during the Burke County school’s annual fall family meal, when more than 140 families came to eat with their children and do activities in the classroom.

Director Yolanda Willis said that upon leaving, the child was given a piece of candy, and it got lodged in his throat.

Surveillance video from the center showed little Jo Freeman in the hallway in obvious distress as a guardian nearby tried to help.

Willis, about 20 feet away, looked over and realized something was wrong.

“When I looked, the child was blue in the face, and I just took action from there, from everything I’ve been trained to do,” Willis said. “You never know when you’ll be able to use it – and yesterday was the day.”

Willis rushed over and began the Heimlich maneuver, performing several abdominal thrusts until the candy came loose and 2-year-old Jo could breathe again.

Jo’s mother, Felicia Freeman, said she had stepped into the hallway as the commotion started.

“My baby was choking on a piece of candy that he had put in his mouth, and it lodged in his throat,” she said. “When I stepped out into the hallway, I realized that he was choking. Miss Willis immediately started doing the maneuver on him and got it out.”

The mother said she tried to stay calm even as she was terrified.

“It was very frightening and very scary,” Freeman said. “I know it was best that I did not panic at a moment like that, or he could have died if I panicked. So I had to stay calm, but I was in a state of shock right there.”

Freeman, who appeared in the video wearing a red hat, said her son has been thriving in the program.

For her, watching Willis jump in was overwhelming.

“I thank God she had that training, because if she had not been there, I just don’t know.”

Willis said she relied on years of training in education and child care.

“Over my 25-plus years of being in education, I’ve had to perform CPR on a child, the Heimlich once before,” she said. “You just have to be prepared and ready if something like this occurs.”

Willis also recently had surgery and was supposed to be under lifting restrictions.

“But all of that was out the door, and adrenaline rushed in, and it was go time,” she said.

Freeman noted that learning that detail afterward brought her to tears.

“She’s an angel to us,” Freeman said. “There were a lot of tears behind it, and I thank God for her.”

Willis says Jo was able to continue his day after the scare.

The team said they hope the viral video and the attention it’s getting will inspire more parents and caregivers to get trained in CPR and first aid.

“A parent with toddlers, it is No. 1 priority,” Willis said. “That’s our goal, that we would bring awareness to this and that we could get our parents trained in these types of life-saving measures.”

Freeman agrees and said she’s just thankful her son’s story ended differently than others she’s seen.

“I thank God for everybody that was involved and how everybody reacted,” she said. “No one panicked. He’s doing better, and I just thank God she was there.”

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