Every day our kids go to school, and each day is pretty typical. They go to class. They learn things like math and history. They eat lunch with their friends.

Not every day is typical. One day, during what started as a normal lunch in the school cafeteria, one 11-year-old boy saved his friend’s life.

Wayne Norris was eating lunch with his friends at Providence Middle School in Chesterfield, Virginia, when one of his friends looked like he couldn’t breathe. He told NBC4, “He was eating his food then it looked like he was choking.”

Norris explained to CBS6 that sometimes his friends play games where they pretend they’re having trouble breathing, but he quickly realized his friend, Chris Stoneman, was not playing a game. Without giving it much thought, Norris lept into action to help his friend.

Norris immediately used the Heimlich Maneuver to dislodge a piece of pizza that was stuck in his friend’s throat. He explained, “I just kind of wrapped my arms around and pushed and then it came out.”

The sixth grader had never received any sort of training to learn how to use the Heimlich Maneuver. Instead, he learned the life-saving trick on TV. 

Stoneman is very grateful for his friend’s quick thinking. He said, “He saved my life.”

Some people at school are calling Norris a “hero” for his actions, but Norris doesn’t like that label. He explained, “Don’t call me a hero. I just try to help.”

When Norris told his dad, Roger Norris, about the lunchroom incident at school, he didn’t make it into a big deal, but his dad hopes that his son will realize that what he did actually is a big deal. He explained, “He definitely needs to cherish this moment for the rest of his life and be proud of what he did because I’m very proud as his dad.”

Stoneman’s father, Dave Stoneman, is also very grateful for Norris’s help when his son needed it. He explained, “God sees it all day long and I’m glad for it. Very proud of him. I can’t thank him enough.”

Do you know how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver? Do you think it’s appropriate to call Norris a “hero” for saving his friend’s life? Does it surprise you that he was able to successfully perform the Heimlich Maneuver after only learning about it on TV?