An elementary school student is safe after her teacher was able to clear her throat of a choking device.

Loon Lake Elementary second grade teacher Laura Doran’s class was in quiet time, Monday, when one of her students ran up to her unable to breathe and making the sign that she was choking. Doran immediately started to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the student, encouraging her that she “can do it” and cough up whatever was lodged in her throat, according to WDIV.

She said the experience “felt like hours, but obviously wasn’t…” and when the object came loose and was finally cleared allowing the child to breathe freely, the two sat there hugging and shaking for a long time. The object? A water cap from the bottle the second grader was drinking from. Doran, who is the school’s Teacher of the Year, said the student went home shaken, and when she herself got to her car at the end of the day, the gravity of the situation really hit her.

Wixom Public Safety Director Ron Moore called Doran a true hero, saying that the community is blessed to have dedicated teachers like her. (MK)