MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) — A 13-year-old girl from Ohio has received a national Girl Scout Award for helping save her grandmother’s life.
WJW-TV reports Lila Szojka received an award Sunday for courage under pressure for rescuing her grandmother when the woman began choking while they were eating at a restaurant in Middleburg Heights.
The grandmother, Laura Noar, says she was dining with Lila in March when food begun obstructing her breathing.
“I took a bite of my baked potato and it must have got lodged in my throat,” Lila’s grandmother Laura Noar told WJW-TV. “Then I remember I couldn’t breathe a lot of it is a blur to me.”
Lila had just completed a first aid and CPR training course and performed the Heimlich maneuver on her grandmother.
“I don’t feel like a hero because I’ve seen other people do incredible things,” Lila told the station.
She also encourages other girls to join Girl Scouts because “you never know when something like that could come in handy.”