When a Haines High School student called for help as he began to choke at school Monday, Natalie Benassi’s instincts kicked in.
“This is not only a student; this is someone’s child,” Benassi said. She works as a paraprofessional at the school.
Benassi was walking to class with a student just after 10 a.m. Monday during the high school nutrition break. As she passed the common area, she heard loud, exaggerated coughing.
“I thought they were joking,” she said. “I was about to tell the kid, ‘Calm down. You’re making a scene,’” when she noticed the student’s face was quickly turning red.
The student was able to muster a “help me,” and Benassi was across the room in a flash, forgetting she set the coffee cup in her hand down on a nearby table.
She wrapped her arms around him and performed the Heimlich Maneuver. With three thrusts, what Benassi described as “a mash” of food was dislodged. Benassi said the student helped by bending forward; there was a significant height difference between them.
After the ordeal, the student said to Benassi, “Thank you; I owe you a big one.”
Benassi said she has been trained several times in basic first aid by the Haines Volunteer Fire Department as part of her jobs at the school and at REACH. She was thankful that the department offers those services in Haines.
“I’m so grateful that it worked,” she said. “It took me hours to come down from that, as a staff member and also a parent,” Benassi said.
Superintendent Tony Habra said the incident happened in less than a minute, and commended Benassi at Tuesday’s school board meeting for her accomplishment.
“I think anybody could have done it, but I’m glad that somebody was there,” Benassi said. “I’m just glad that he’s OK.”