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Peoria teacher saves second-grader who was choking on highlighter cap

Eight-year-old Yunior and his second-grade teacher, Mrs. Coffman, have a special bond.

Last Wednesday, she saved his life.

"He ran up to me, he was running so fast that his shoe fell off," she said. "He was kind of doing this motion and this motion to me, so I immediately knew he was choking."

Yunior was choking on a cap from a highlighter.

(Photo: Kelli Coffman)

"I did the Heimlich several times. The whole time I just kept thinking, 'why isn’t it coming out?'" Coffman said. "I had to do it multiple times. When you’re training, you think twice and it comes out. It's definitely not like that."

In July, all of the teachers and staff at Paramount Academy in Peoria were certified in CPR and it just so happens that Mrs. Coffman used to work as a 911 dispatch operator.

"No one calls 911 on a good day, so every call was a panic and you have to stay calm and give instructions," she said.

While she was saving a life, Mrs. Coffman instructed her assistant to call the principal, who then ran over.

"We’re incredibly proud. Mrs. Coffman loves education, loves her kid,s would do anything for her kids and two days ago she did," Principal John Paquin said.

"It was very scary," she said. "Afterwards, we just held onto each other and oh God, I’m very thankful God was there, that his presence came over me and calmness."

Yunior was checked out by the school nurse and received a clean bill of health. He and his classmates call Mrs. Coffman their hero.