GORHAM — A Marcus Whitman school district teacher’s aide credited with saving the life of a choking student was honored Thursday.
State Sen. Pam Helming presented the Liberty Medal to Wendy Boyer during a ceremony at the high school. The highest civilian honor bestowed on an individual by the Senate, the Liberty Medal is awarded for exceptional, heroic, or humanitarian acts on behalf of fellow New Yorkers.
Boyer was recognized for an incident in May, when she was in the Middlesex Valley Primary School cafeteria and responded to a child that was choking. She performed the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge food from the student’s throat.
Helming noted that although Boyer is not officially first aid/CPR certified, she attended a “Good Samaritan” class to learn about life-saving measures.
“Stories like Wendy’s make us all think about what we would do in that same situation. Her decisive, calm, and deliberate actions saved the life of this young student and assured other children that they were safe and the emergency was under control,” Helming said in a press release. “Teachers are truly special people who put the needs of their students first. Wendy Boyer is a hero and an example for all of us.”
“I was just doing my job,” Boyer said. “I was notified by another staff member that a student was choking. I jumped in to help just like anyone would. It’s important that we all understand the skills and how important is to help out.”
“Mrs. Boyer considers herself to be the anti-hero and feels that she did what anyone else would do in the same situation,” added Chris Brown, Marcus Whitman’s superintendent of schools. “From experience, I can tell you that is not the case. She is a hero to our school, community, child, and parents of the child. Thanks to her quick actions we will never need to think about what could have happened. She saved a life.”