Driving down the road, it’s way too easy to zone out and forget where we were going in the first place. Driving on “autopilot” is all too easy and we can miss our turn and get lost or even get into a fender bender!
For one man, however, being aware and watchful on the road didn’t save his life, but it sure saved someone else’s.
Devin Theriault was driving his truck down the road when he noticed a kid trying to get his attention.
“I saw two kids on the side of the road, one of them had his hands above his head trying to get my attention, which he did.” – Salem News
Devin, who’s a plumber, was on his way back to the shop from a call and was driving his company van. While driving, he happened to notice two young kids on the side of the road, one of which was desperately waving his hands trying to get someone to notice them. Devin was the first one to pull over.
When he figured out what was happening, Devin realized that it was a life-or-death situation.
One of the boys was, quite literally, turning blue and it was clear why they had been asking for help. The boy was choking and there was nobody around who knew what to do. At least, that was true until Devin showed up.
Devin ran over and started doing the Heimlich maneuver, hoping to get him breathing again.
“So, I jumped out of my truck, ran over to him, seeing that he was starting to look pale and blue. So, I grabbed him, started doing the Heimlich maneuver, got a gasp of air out of him on, like, the sixth try, and he started breathing again, which was huge.” – Salem News
Try after try and Devin didn’t give up. finally, with a gasp, it worked. Six tries later and the boy was able to take a breath. By this time another driver had stopped and called the Fire Department to get help on the way.
After the terrifying event, the boy was able to call his mom on Devins’s phone and tell her what happened.
When the official report came out, the stories matched up. The poor kid had choked on a Devil Dog cake and had accidentally swallowed more than he could chew. What’s even crazier is the fact that Devin didn’t have any medical training when he arrived on the scene – he just did the best he could!
News coverage is painting Devin as a hero, but he has a different take.
“It’s a little unreal. I don’t understand why I’m getting so much attention just for doing the right thing, but I’ll take it.”
Devin shared how he went into “dad mode” during the scary event. He told CBS Boston:
“I’m actually a father myself and I can only imagine my son choking. So I just went into dad mode, and helped him out as fast as I could. I’m thanking God that he’s here today and I’m here today and everything worked out because it could of went a lot different.”
Well, I can think of at least one little boy who would call him a hero!
Make sure you check out the video below to hear the story from the dad himself!
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