7 Days

Ajman, Feb 26: An eight-year-old girl has been praised for saving the life of a toddler from choking to death on a pebble. Quick-thinking Raiza Salam performed the Heimlich manoeuvre -  a simple physical procedure to stop choking - on Jenan Tariq after realising her three-year-old friend had stopped breathing.

The young girls, who are neighbours in Ajman, had been playing in Jenan’s family home with the small stones, when the younger of the two began to choke. Raiza grabbed her friend and performed the life-saving medical technique on her. To their relief, the pebble was forced out of Jenan’s mouth, enabling the youngster to breathe again. Raiza said: “I was a bit scared but my parents were really happy with me and my friend is fine now.”

Raiza learned the life-saving technique from her father who is a doctor in the emirate. Three days before the near tragedy, her two-year-old sister choked while eating an orange and their father performed the Heimlich manoeuvre in front of Raiza. He then told her how it worked and when it should be performed.

Raiza’s mother Sabeena praised her daughter, saying: “I cannot imagine what would have happened if Raiza had not done what she did. It can only take one or two minutes for someone to choke to death. The girls had been having a nice time playing but then Raiza realised Jenan had stopped breathing.”

Jenan’s mother was in another room of the house when she heard screaming. She said: “I was shocked and terrified because my daughter’s life was at stake. I have thanked Raiza and am so glad she knew how to deal with such things - she saved my daughter.” Dr Babu Shersad, from Dubai’s First Medical Centre, said: “She definitely saved the little girl’s life. All children at school should be taught the Heimlich manoeuvre as it is simple and saves lives.”

American Henry Heimlich introduced the technique in 1974. Since then it has saved more than 100,000 lives in the US alone, including those of Cher, former President Ronald Reagan and Elizabeth Taylor.