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07/25/2018 09:23 AMWith a successful Heimlich maneuver and a quick water rescue response, two Branford Parks & Recreation staffers saved two very young lives last week.
Experiencing two life assists in one week drives home the department's constant message to staff and employees on the importance of training, preparation and readiness, said Parks &Recreation Director Alex Palluzzi.
"People think of all the good things that happen with Parks and Rec, but I would say they should also recognize we're ready, because these things happen," said Palluzzi. "Both of these assists involved [staff] being in the right place, with the right training, at the right time."
On Monday, July 16, Recreation Dept. Program Supervisor Victor Amatori, a veteran staffer, was in the right place when a four-year-old camper began choking. The boy began having trouble while eating barbecued chicken during the camp's lunch break in the Sliney Elementary School cafeteria.
Amatori was overseeing a lunch table behind the boy and credits camp staffer Sharon Stawicki, who was overseeing children heading from the lunch line to the table in front of Amatori, with alerting him so that he could help.
"It was truly a team effort, with an assist from her seeing it from the front and pointing out something was possibly wrong," said Amatori. "Seated where I was behind him, it was my responsibility and my reaction to try to help him, and luckily, we did."
Following his training, Amatori quickly asked the child if he was okay.
"He could not answer, so right away so I went into motion with the Heimlich maneuver," said Amatori.
He credits his camp staff for helping calmly move the other children to another table so that he could continue his efforts. Amatori said he had make the manuever's abdominal thrusts to the boy while remaining mindful of the child's size, adjusting his strength to avoid causing injury such as a cracked rib. It took Amatori three quick attempts before the food began to exit the child's mouth.
"When I did it the third time, the food slowly but surely started to come out of the side of his mouth," said Amatori. "When I asked if he was okay and he answered, that was the best thing ever. It's not textbook and you're never ready, but you have to be prepared for it. It was an emotional day."
"To add to the situation that took place, it was even more emotional when we had to recap and explain the whole situation when mom came at pick up time," Amatori continued. "It was an emotional time and a scene which will be forever etched in my thoughts."
Just two days later, on July 18, 18-year-old pool guard Chris DeLise was at the right place during Branford Park & Rec pre-school swimming lessons at the Connecticut Hospice outdoor pool in Short Beach. During morning lessons, a preschooler waiting his turn on the pool steps slipped into the water.
DeLise was overseeing the pool area where lessons being given by his father Phil DeLise, also a pool guard. Chris DeLise responded immediately to pull the child from the water, said Palluzzi.
DeLise said he was able to get to the boy right as he went under.
"He fell off the stairs, and his mom also went after him, and we got him out," said DeLise, who has been a lifeguard with Parks & Rec for a year.
Amatori emphasized the life assists given last week are a credit to the efforts of all Park & Rec staff members who provide the training, and the employees who undertake the training, so that everyone is prepared to respond in an emergency.
"It's something Alex and I always say about our profession, and when we're talking with our lifeguards and pool guards and the wonderful staff that we have here -- at any given moment, we have to be prepared, because at any given moment, it can happen," said Amatori.