Third Grader Jakwon Walker Got an Apple Out of His Best Friend Jose Lopez’s Throat at Lunch in Yakima, and Adams Elementary Gave Him Its First Save a Life Award

What does a third grader do when his best friend starts choking on a piece of apple in the lunchroom? In Yakima, Washington, Jakwon Walker walked straight over, wrapped his arms around Jose Lopez and started a Heimlich-style squeeze, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported on Nov. 9.

When that did not work, Jakwon slapped Jose on the back, and the piece of apple came out. Adams Elementary School then gave him a Save a Life Award at an assembly on Friday, the first time a student at the school has received it, according to Principal Doug Kaplicky.

The Lunchroom Moment

The Herald reported that some students nearby did not notice Jose was choking and others did not know what to do. Jakwon did. He told the newspaper that he went to Jose even though he had needed to go to the bathroom at the time.

Asked why, he gave a short answer: “He’s my best friend.”

He started with the abdominal squeeze. When it did not clear the apple, he switched to strikes on the back with his hand. NewsTalk KIT reported the same sequence and added that Jakwon learned basic medical procedures from video games. It said staff responded quickly, but by then his efforts had already solved the problem.

Neither report says how Jose felt afterward or whether he was seen by a nurse.

A First Save a Life Award for a Student at Adams Elementary

The award came at a Friday assembly that honored students of the month, with third-, fourth- and fifth-graders, parents and staff in the room. Kaplicky said school staff members have received the Save a Life Award before, but Jakwon is the first student to get it.

Michaela Moreno, a paraeducator at the school, was recognized at the same assembly for stepping up. A school official said that “in a moment when every second mattered, they demonstrated quick thinking, courage and genuine concern.”

The assembly ended with a bonus for the whole school. Jakwon earned points for every student in a game tied to the school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program.

His mother, Teonna Burke, who is raising Jakwon and his sister on her own, learned about it when a school nurse called her while she was at Safeway. She told the Herald she cried at the news. She said Jakwon continues to amaze her every day, and that whenever she doubts whether she is doing a good job as a parent, something like this comes along to answer it. Jakwon has won Student of the Month before. After the award, he said he was “happy for everyone.”

Adams Elementary is part of the Yakima School District, and its school website lists it at 723 S. 8th St. in Yakima.

Apple Pieces and Back Blows: What Choking Guidance Says

Apples are not the first food people think of as a choking risk, but pediatric guidance names them. HealthyChildren.org, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, lists raw fruit chunks such as apple pieces among foods to avoid or modify for young children. It advises cutting food for young children into pieces no bigger than half an inch and keeping other high-risk foods, including whole grapes, raw carrot sticks, nuts, seeds, popcorn and hot dogs, away from children until about age 4 or older, depending on each child’s development.

The same page says children should eat at a table or sit down when they eat, and should never run, walk, play or lie down with food in their mouths. It also calls for supervising meals for infants and young children. Third graders are well past the toddler years, so those rules matter most at home with younger siblings, but the sit-down advice applies to any lunch table.

For a child or adult who is choking and cannot cough, speak or breathe, the American Red Cross lists these warning signs: a weak cough or none, a high-pitched squeak or no sound, pale or blue skin, a panicked look and hands held at the throat. Its steps are to call 9-1-1 if the person needs immediate emergency treatment, stand to the side and slightly behind and give 5 back blows with the heel of the hand between the shoulder blades, then give 5 abdominal thrusts, pulling inward and upward, if the back blows do not work. The Red Cross says to keep alternating until the person can cough, cry or speak, or becomes unresponsive, in which case CPR begins with chest compressions.

The Red Cross also covers the opposite situation. If the person can still cough, cry or speak, it says to encourage the coughing, stay with them and be ready to act if their condition changes. That distinction matters in a busy cafeteria, where a child who is coughing hard is in a different spot from one who has gone silent and is holding both hands to the throat.

The Red Cross steps alternate back blows and abdominal thrusts rather than relying on one, and they repeat until the airway clears or help takes over. Adults who have never taken a first aid class can find the same instructions on the Red Cross page linked above.

Two other school choking stories on this site point the same way. In Longview, Texas, a third grader made the choking sign and was saved by adults, and in Columbus, a student ran to a teacher when a classmate was choking.

HealthyChildren.org adds two reminders for families: follow the age labels on toys, since they reflect choking risk at different ages, and remember that balloons remain a choking risk for children up to age 8. In Yakima, the lunch ended well because a classmate who was paying attention acted.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Quintin Soloviev – CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons