Michigan teacher honored for saving student from choking on water bottle cap

City honored teacher Tuesday

WIXOM, Mich. – An elementary school teacher in Wixom was honored for how she reacted to an emergency at school.

It was snack time at Loon Lake Elementary and 8-year-old Sienna Cavanaugh had the bottle cap from her water bottle in her mouth when she accidentally inhaled.

The cap was stuck so she went to her teacher, Laura Doran, with her hands around her neck to let her know she was in trouble.

ORIGINALWixom teacher saves second-grade student from choking

Doran started the Heimlich maneuver immediately and the cap came flying out.

“I remember needing to stay calm but screaming in my head,” Doran said. “As I sat and reflected later on the whole experience I can’t imagine on so many different levels if that had gone wrong.”

Doran was trying to soothe Sienna while she was clasping her to get the cap out. When it finally flew out both were so relieved and exhausted at the same time.

Tuesday night, the city of Wixom honored Doran for her fast thinking that saved Sienna.

“We are forever in her debt, there’s no way we could ever repay her,” Sienna’s father, Nick, said. “She is our hero.”


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.