Hewitt, Tx (FOX 44) – A Park Hill Elementary School Instructional Assistant is being honored for quick action in noticing a first grader struggling to breathe in a lunchroom.

During a school day in October, Park Hill first grader Gabrielle Ohmstede was eating lunch when she choked on a strawberry and started having trouble breathing.

Pollack noticed the child’s distress in a room filled with hundreds of students and ran to her to clear her throat and restore her breathing.

“I am so grateful for her quick action and for her being so aware and in tune to what was going on in the lunchroom,” Gabrielle’s mom Sarah Ohmstede said. “If she had not been, there could have been a much different outcome. She is a hero!”

In recognition of her vigilance, the Midway ndependent School District’s Board of Trustees has presented Ms. Pollak with the Midway Extra Mile Hero Award. This is given to individuals who go above and beyond in service to their school community.