Kevin Schroeder, 16, will be a senior at Lockport High School in the fall. Madeline Amerine, 10, will be back at Charles Upson School, thanks to her big brother.

Kevin saved Madeline’s life on June 6 with a Heimlich maneuver in their Webb Street home. He received training through the American Red Cross at school in March, and on Wednesday, he received a Certificate of Recognition for extraordinary personal action for “using the American Red Cross lifesaving skills that saved a human life.”

Kevin was surprised by the award. “I didn’t really want this,” he said.

His description of the incident was brief. “She was in the living room, and I was in the kitchen, and she ran into the kitchen holding her throat, so I Heimliched again and it came out,” he said.

Actually, he used the Heimlich maneuver twice. At first the hard candy did not come out. He yelled for help and tried again. “I was nervous because it wasn’t coming out,” Kevin said. “It popped out. I was relieved.”

It was a Friday night. Madeline was scared when a Lemonhead stuck in her throat and she ran to her brother, who was making something in the kitchen.

“He did exactly what we taught him in March,” said instructor Wayne Shutt, an American Red Cross trainer for all aspects of water safety.

The Heimlich maneuver is an emergency technique for preventing suffocation when a person’s airway becomes blocked. Choking because of an obstructed airway is a leading cause of accidental death.

The first action is five back blows between the shoulder blades with one hand. If the object is still caught, put the hands above belly button and thrust inward and upward five times to create an artificial cough.

“Use the combination of the two until the object comes out,” Shutt said. “In young children, it happens quite often. That was a classic with hard candy stuck in throat and it wouldn’t move.”

The Red Cross conducts two classes a year at Lockport High School. CPR and first aid are taught.

Kevin is a swimming instructor at the Briarwood Pool five mornings a week. He is also a certified life guard. He learned to swim with the Lockport modified team in seventh and eighth grade.

Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.