Receives honor from Fire Rescue for his act
By Meagan McGone
mmcgone@hometownnewsol.com
INDIALANTIC -- Shortly after their parents went to sleep, brothers Colby and Jared Spragins of Indialantic, stayed up watching TV.
Six-year-old Colby popped a red-and-white-striped peppermint into his mouth and began to choke.
Jared, 11, was quick on his feet.
"My oldest son gave Colby his version of the Heimlich maneuver," said Mike Spragins, the boys' father. "The mint popped out, and little Colby got sick on the floor, which, according to the fire department, is a telltale sign that the mint was far down enough that he was really choking and needed help."
Not wanting to wake his parents, Jared cleaned up and went to bed. The next day, he casually mentioned the event to his mother, Janice.
"My son told my wife the next morning," Mr. Spragins said. "It was very low-key. Nobody panicked -- they didn't even wake us up to tell us what happened. He didn't really grasp what he had accomplished."
That was until Friday, Nov. 16, when Indialantic Fire Rescue Chief Jon Macdonald presented Jared with a certificate, honoring him for saving his little brother's life.
"Jared is a little embarrassed," Mr. Spragins said. "He doesn't like all of the attention. After the chief visited him, News 13 came and interviewed him a little more. I don't think he really understood what he had done. But thank God he did it."
Mr. Spragins said Indialantic Fire Rescue informed the family that Jared's actions really saved Colby from a grave situation.
"We didn't realize how severe that was until today," Mr. Spragins said. "That certainly hit home with me when I heard what the result may have been had Jared not done what he did."
Still, one question remains: How does an 11-year-old know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver?
"He said he saw it on TV," Mr. Spragins said. "Apparently there has never been a class in school that he learned it in. He just picked it up from watching TV - thank goodness."