West Virginia Press Association
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — When 11-year-old Trace Adams raised his hands to his throat during the watermelon-eating contest at the Berkeley County Youth Fair and signaled he was choking, paramedic Adam Hess wasted no time coming to the boy’s aid.
After applying the Heimlich maneuver a few times and giving Trace a good smack on the back, Hess was able to free the obstruction from the boy’s throat and the young 4-Her spit out the chunk of melon that had become lodged in his airway.
“I got really scared. I put my hands over my throat, because I knew that was what you were supposed to do and then the paramedic just jumped over the fence and tried to help me,” Trace said of the incident, which took place Thursday. “I was very scared, because I thought I wouldn’t make it, I started to feel like I couldn’t breathe and I started to feel a little bit light-headed.”
Read full story: EMT saves choking boy at Berkeley County fair