Edina elementary student saves classmate from choking during school picnic

As it turns out, kids sometimes listen to their parents.

Zach Furman certainly did, and today one of his classmates at Concord Elementary in Edina is probably alive because the third-grader learned from his Dad how to administer the Heimlich technique.

During a school picnic, one of Furman's friends, Fletcher Dypwick, began choking on his lunch. Zach and another friend, Aiden Roberts, were nearby.

"I started to ask Fletcher if he wanted to join us and noticed he was choking," Zach said. "I was scared for him because his face was pale and he was doing the choking sign—covering his neck with both of his hands."

But Zach remembered his Dad's lesson on the Heimlich technique and jumped into action while Aiden went to get a teacher. By the time a teacher got there, the food was dislodged much to everyone's relief.

The next day, Fletcher's mom invited Zach and Aiden over for a playdate and to formally thank the two boys.

I never thought I was going to use what I had learned," Zach said. "But I am so glad that I could use that knowledge to help someone."