Cheerleaders are incredible athletes that know how to dazzle an audience. But one teen named Tyra Winters did more than perform during an event – she ended up saving a child’s life too.
It was time for Rockwell High School’s homecoming parade.
17-year-old Tyra and the other Texas cheerleaders came out on a float and started dancing. They were entertaining the crowd on what was supposed to be a fun day.
Meanwhile, mom Nicole Hornback had taken her two young children, Clark and Warren, to see the parade.
And then something very scary happened. Two-year-old Clark began choking on a piece of candy.
Nicole started screaming out for help, hoping that someone knew how to save her baby.
Nicole Hornback told KETK NBC:
“He was just physically just choking, just gagging and just gasping for air.”
Without hesitation, Tyra sprang into action. She jumped off the float and raced towards the toddler.
She knew she could save him if she got there soon enough.
She reached Clark and started performing the Heimlich maneuver on the child.
Tyra explained:
“I picked the kiddo up. I tilted him downward, and I hit like two or three good back thrusts, and he started spitting up.”
Soon, the candy had become dislodged from the child’s throat. Clark could feel the air rushing into his lungs.
Tyra realized that the boy was going to be fine. So without a word, she handed him back to his mom and ran back to her float to carry on with her routine, like a true professional.
The mom was extremely grateful to the teen, who’d saved her baby’s life.
She later posted on Facebook about how the cheerleader had saved Clark, explaining that the entire thing happened so fast that she didn’t even get to learn the girl’s name.
Luckily, someone who worked at the school saw this post and connected Nicole with Tyra.
Soon, Nicole, Tyra, and Nicole’s kids were meeting in person properly.
Tyra and Nicole hugged. And Clark and Tyra high fived, as the boy was a little shy. But who wouldn’t be meeting a real-life hero?
Nicole told CBSDFW:
“She saved my baby. I commend her for being a teenager and being trained.”
It turns out that Tyra learned how to perform the Heimlich maneuver from her mother, who runs a group home for foster children.
Clark is the first child that Tyra has saved, but almost definitely not the last. After high school, she plans to study to become a pediatric surgeon. If this amazing story is anything to go by, then Tyra sure does have what it takes to achieve her dreams.
Tyra’s heroic act has people around the internet applauding.
Not only did she move swiftly to help a child during a medical emergency, but she also went right back to entertaining the crowd once she was done. How awesome is that?
Check out the video below to see Tyra meet up with little Clark and his mom. What a hero she is!
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