10-year-old Oceanside Cub Scout saves choking twin sister

On the Saturday before New Year’s Eve, members of the Jenkins family were baking in the kitchen when 10-year-old Meghan Jenkins began choking on a cookie.

“Are you ok, Meghan? Are you ok?” her father, Dennis Jenkins, recalled that he yelled from the living room when he heard her loudly coughing.

By the time Dennis entered the kitchen to help, the cookie was already falling out of her mouth, Dennis said. That’s because his son and Meghan’s twin brother, Eric, administered the Heimlich maneuver, which he learned at a Cub Scouts den meeting about a year ago.

“I was scared, I wasn’t sure if she was kidding or if she was OK,” said Eric, 10, a member of WEBLOS Pack 204, Den 19. “They told me if I see someone who’s choking, to ask if they are choking and if they are, to do the Heimlich. I didn’t think I would need to use it.”

When he realized Meghan was choking and could not speak, he swiftly performed the maneuver to dislodge the cookie and saved her life.

“It was heartwarming,” Meghan said. “I realized how lucky I am to have a twin like him. I could’ve lost my life in that situation and having him by my side was very helpful.”

Dennis, who trains adults in CPR as a lead instructor for National Grid, said he was “unbelievably amazed” by his son’s calm nature in the high-stress situation.

“In 10 years of teaching CPR, I never had to use [the Heimlich],” Dennis said. “I was just amazed that he had the wherewithal. He asked the right questions, didn’t panic and performed it the right way. I’m so proud and thankful because I have a little girl who’s still here.”

Dennis, along with Eric’s den leader Paul Lehner, are submitting Eric’s act for a Boy Scouts of America Lifesaving Award.

“We try to get the boys and girls to learn these skills at a young age so they can use it in the future to help the community and others around them,” Lehner said. “Sure enough, they do.”