[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here was a moment of understanding Friday when Hays CISD instructors Artermise Cyphers and Leann Loya shared a heartfelt, tearful embrace during a pep rally at Wallace Middle School.
Moments before, Loya, along with Hays CISD superintendent Michael McKie, presented Cyphers with a commemorative plaque in a surprise ceremony. It was all linked to a singular moment of heroic action that helped save a student’s life.
On Jan. 10, Cyphers, a 7th grade English instructor, successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver to save Loya’s daughter, who was choking on a piece of hard candy during class.
For Cyphers, performing the action was a matter of training and instinct.
“Something greater than me kicked in,” Cyphers said. “I wasn’t myself. I was just thinking, ‘she has to breathe.’”
The incident occurred toward the end of Cypher’s second period class. Loya said her daughter, who had been sick, had a piece of hard candy in her mouth to keep her throat wet.
But when she attempted to clear her throat, the hard candy followed and also went down her throat, Loya said.
Loya said her daughter tried to hold off telling Cyphers as long as she could, so as to avoid interruption.
“She was trying to go to the restroom, but she could feel herself blacking out,” Loya said. “Her thoughts were, ‘I’m not going to make it to the restroom.’”
Cyphers said Loya’s daughter stood up and began walking toward her. Initially, she thought the student had to go to the restroom.
Cyphers quickly realized something much more serious was going on.
“I thought she had to go to the bathroom. But she came toward me and her face was turning red ... I was about to say to go to the bathroom, but her hands were raised to her throat. I was like, ‘this was something totally different.’” Artermise Cyphers
Immediately, Cyphers turned Loya’s daughter around and began performing the Heimlich maneuver. Cyphers said she didn’t know how many times she tried it.
“At one point, I thought, ‘oh God, help me. I felt like I was going to crush her ribs,” Cyphers said.
While the process “took a while,” Cyphers said she began hearing air coming out of the student’s throat. She then began “pounding her back,” which led to the candy exiting her mouth. She then helped the student to the nurse’s office.
Sarah Hodges, Wallace Middle School principal, said she was at a training conference at Lehman High when she received a text from one of the school nurses about the incident.
Hodges then stepped in to ensure Loya was contacted and was on-site. She then made sure the student was okay.
Her attention then turned to Cyphers, who performed the maneuver during class.
Cyphers, Hodges said, handled it like an “all-star.”
“She stopped teaching to instruct kids on empathy and how that would feel if they were choking and how scary that is, and what happened if people talked about it,” Hodges said. “They had a community agreement to give the child some space and not talk about it for a while.”
Loya, who works at Blanco Vista Elementary, quickly left work to care for her daughter. It was a moment that was “very scary” for the student.
“She thought blacking out was death upon her,” Loya said. “She was very grateful. She was very scared, but very grateful.”
After the incident, Loya sought a way to express her gratitude to Cyphers for her actions. She eventually spoke with Tim Persall, Hays CISD assistant superintendent of elementary schools, and Tim Savoy, public information officer.
Together, they chose to present Cyphers with a plaque.
For Cyphers, training played a vital role in success of the Heimlich maneuver. Prior to the start of the school year, Cyphers was required to go through first aid, CPR and AED training for cheerleading recertification.
Being prepared helped her take action in the heat of the moment.
“It’s hard to take gratitude for that because I was doing what needed to be done,” Cyphers said.
