JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman shared her story on Wednesday about how the quick thinking of an 11-year-old girl helped save her life.
Verna Bracey-Bradshaw said she was choking on a pill while in the waiting room of a Jacksonville business on Monday when 11-year-old Allyson Bobchak came to her rescue and performed the Heimlich maneuver.
Bracey-Bradshaw said she tried to take a pill, and it got stuck in her throat — her vision started to fade.
“I felt like I was about to die. And when this child came and she did that for me, I don’t think people will ever understand it meant the world to me because it’s another day of life,” Bracey-Bradshaw said.
Bracey-Bradshaw said what amazed her the most was how precise the 11-year-old was while performing the method.
“God used a child to save my life,” Bracey-Bradshaw said.
Bobchack said she feels good about what she did to help Bracey-Bradshaw.
“I loved that I saved her life because now she is alive and well. And I’m so glad for that,” Bobchack said.
Bracey-Bradshaw said the pill got stuck in her throat because it was dry. Something the former gospel singer siad she experiences constantly since overcoming tonsil cancer.
Bobchack said she was nervous when performing the Heimlich on Bracey-Bradshaw, but stayed calm and remembered everything her mom taught her.
But she also credited her favorite show, Grey’s Anatomy, for teaching her the move.
“There was this one girl, she was choking on something,” Bobchack said. “But Meredith Grey helped her by putting her arms around her and doing that, and I remembered that and did that to her, Ms. Bradshaw.”
Bracey-Bradshaw said she’s thankful God placed the 11-year-old and her grandmother in the waiting room at the same time she was there.
She also said she hopes this story inspires parents to put their children in first aid classes so they can always be in the position to save someone’s life.
“You did it, she-ro,” Bracey-Bradshaw said.
Bracey-Bradshaw said since Bobchack saved her life, she now considers her like family and they’ll always be connected.
The 11-year-old said that when she grows up, she wants to be a doctor and help save more people’s lives.
