Choking child rescued at restaurant

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A nurse was at the right place at the right time Sunday when a young boy dining on a fried cheese stick started choking.

Eleven-year-old Jack Mayo was eating dinner with his grandmother and sister at a Suffolk Applebee's when he started to choke; a fried cheese stick had gotten stuck in his throat.

"I was trying to talk but I couldn't," Mayo said.

His grandmother called for help twice, but she said everyone froze and stared. She yelled, 'He's choking!' and Trish Gibson, a registered nurse ran up to the family.

Gibson said she did not hear the first two calls for help but when she finally got to Mayo, she started performing the Heimlich maneuver on him. Gibson said the child was her size so she was unable to get leverage so she called for more help. She says no one answered.

"I stepped up in the chair and used that as leverage for my thrusting motions," Gibson told WAVY.com.

Mayo said he felt relieved when the food finally came out.

"I gave her a big hug and said, 'Thank you,' and I started crying," Mayo said.