This is the incredible moment when Florida city staff saved the life of a three-year-old boy after he choked on a candy.
The father and his young boy were waiting in line at a post office inside the North Bay Village City Hall building in Miami-Dade County on Monday when a candy became lodged in the child’s throat.
Rodolfo Santana, North Bay Village’s customer service manager, and his colleague sprang into action and rushed over to help.
The heroic moment was captured on a nearby surveillance camera, and Santana spoke with WPLG Local 10 on Thursday.
The incredible moment of Florida city staff saving the life of a three-year-old boy, who was choked by a candy, was caught on camera
Rodolfo Santana(pictured), North Bay Village’s customer service manager, and his colleague quickly stepped in to help
A typical day started as a father and his young boy waited in line at the post office inside the North Bay Village City Hall (pictured), but it took a sudden turn when a candy became lodged in the boy’s throat
In the footage captured by a nearby security camera, the father can be seen waiting in line at the post office with his three-year-old boy.
In a sudden turn of events, the boy ran to his father, who immediately bent over and appeared panicked in the video.
Santana and his colleague rushed over to the pair and offered their help in the heart-wrenching moment.
‘I heard a lady yell out, ‘someone was choking, a kid was choking,’ Santana told the local outlet.
‘It seemed to me like the father was having a hard time and kind of panicking a little bit, so I stepped in to help and grabbed the boy.’
The staff bent over to check the boy, thrust the child into their arms, gave back blows from behind, and continued to compress the kid’s back and chest.
After one minute and 20 seconds, the candy was dislodged, but the emergency felt much longer for Santana and the father.
‘In my mind, it felt like it took forever,’ Santana said.
In the footage captured by a nearby security camera, a father can be seen waiting in line at the post office with his three-year-old boy
In a sudden turn of events, the boy ran to his father, who immediately bent over and appeared panicked in the video
The staff bent over to check the boy, thrust the child into their arms, gave back blows from behind, and continued to compress the kid’s back and chest
The young boy’s father spoke on the phone with a local reporter and expressed his gratitude to the two individuals who stepped in to help.
Locals on social media praised the city staff for doing an amazing job in saving the life of the young child.
‘Rodolfo is an amazing guy. He always helps me out whenever he is around. He was already my hero and now more than ever he needs to be recognized,’ one user wrote on Facebook.
More than 12,000 children are taken to emergency rooms every year suffering from choking, statistics suggest, and one child dies from choking on food every five days.
Mayo clinic doctor Grace Arteaga told DailyMail.com that parents should hold babies face down on their lap or a surface and repeatedly pat their back firmly until the blockage is dislodged.
She warned that many people with good intentions make the mistake of reaching into a child’s throat to remove the blockage.
She said: ‘This can actually force it further down.’