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Date: 8/2/2023
AGAWAM — Keith Carrier’s routine as Granger School’s custodian put him in the right place at the right time one day last spring when he remembered a life-saving technique he learned in high school, 32 years ago.
During first grade lunch in the cafeteria on May 30, he heard the lunchroom monitor yelling that a student was choking. Carrier quickly assessed the situation, remained calm and knew exactly what to do.
“When I reached him, he was starting to turn blue. It all happened so fast that no one had time to get the nurse,” he said. Carrier quickly realized that 7-year-old Giovanni Botto was choking on a piece of food blocking his airway.
Carrier then used the life-saving Heimlich maneuver — something he learned in his physical education class at St. Mary’s High School in Westfield back in the 1990s.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had to use it, but my training came back almost instantly. It’s something you learn and hopefully never have to use,” said the Westfield resident. “I kept thinking, I hope it works.”
It did work, and Giovanni quickly immediately expelled the piece of food. According to Carrier, Giovanni appeared to be shaken up, but otherwise OK by the time school nurse Pam Lynch arrived.
Carrier knew that because he was dealing with a child, the Heimlich technique is different from what one would do with an adult.
“The first thing I did was spin him around so he wasn’t facing everybody. Then I placed him against my legs so I’d have something to pull on,” he said. “I’m a bigger person, so I used my legs and myself as something to pull against. With an adult, you would normally stand behind the person and give abdominal thrusts.”
Carrier, 49, has been custodian at the school for 13 years. He said it was fortunate that part of his routine is to be in the cafeteria during lunch to quickly clean up any spills.
The next day he received a thank-you note from Giovanni that was hand-printed on a piece of blue 8½- by 11-inch construction paper. The note hangs in Carrier’s office, which is near the cafeteria.
“That’s definitely worth keeping,” he said.
Giovanni’s mother, Kayleigh Botta, said she can’t begin to express how grateful she and her whole family are that Carrier was there and knew how to perform the Heimlich.
“Mr. Carrier has always been a great guy and we will forever be thankful to him for his quick actions in saving Giovanni,” she said. “Thank God Mr. Carrier was right there to act so quickly. It absolutely could have been much worse had he not been near Giovanni.”
Botta said she was shocked at first when she got a call at work from Lynch, who assured her that her son was fine.
“She told me Giovanni actually went back about his day like nothing happened. She checked in on him later and called again with another update that all was still well.”
When her son came home from school that day, he never complained of soreness or anything. He just kept saying how thankful he was that Carrier was there when he choked on sausages he had eaten for lunch. Giovanni also told her he had learned his lesson about shoving so much food in his mouth.
“He said it was very scary not being able to breathe,” said Botta.
Lynch wrote an email to Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Salomao — who was formerly principal at Granger — to inform her of the emergency. Lynch wrote that Carrier “reacted in a swift, selfless and heroic manner” to prevent Giovanni from choking.
“Keith’s extraordinary efforts prevented a traumatizing event from becoming a tragedy,” said Lynch. “His calm demeanor kept that student, as well as the others, from panicking in the cafeteria. I arrived within moments to find the student shaken but safe and breathing. Mr. Carrier was at his side.”
Like Giovanni’s mother, Lynch said she was grateful to Carrier for his courage to step in and step up in an emergency.
“I’m proud to have him as a member of our Granger family. We are fortunate and thankful for our custodian today and every day,” said Lynch.
For his heroic actions, Carrier was recognized at the June 27 Agawam School Committee meeting with a letter praising his actions and a certificate of commendation on behalf of the committee from Mayor William Sapelli, chair of the School Committee.
In his remarks, Sapelli said Agawam is fortunate to have employees like Carrier “from top to bottom” in the school department.
“Everybody’s a member of a team. This is a perfect example of that — nobody’s better or worse than the other. We all come together do what’s best for children to keep them safe,” said Sapelli.
“And no better example could be given then that day when Mr. Carrier stepped in and performed the Heimlich maneuver on a student,” said Sapelli, who called Carrier “a valuable staff member.”
Carrier has worked for the district for 25 years and previously was custodian at the high school and the junior high school. He said it was a “nice feeling” that so many people from Granger took the time to come to the meeting to watch him be recognized.
“There were a lot of teachers that came in support. I also had some family members that I didn’t know were going to be there,” he said. “I’m just glad I remembered my Heimlich training and could help Giovanni.”