Safe Sitters never know when they will need to use lifesaving skills. In the case of Jill, 11, it was the same day she graduated from the program!

Jill, who took Safe SitterŪ at her local hospital in Florida in July, demonstrated Choking Infant Rescue during the graduation ceremony where her mother, Lori, and grandparents were in attendance. "On the way home from class, Jill said, 'That's a lot of responsibility - I don't know if I want to babysit!'" Lori said. "We talked about the ways she could start out babysitting slowly and with preschoolers."

Jill expressed her worries about a child dying while under her supervision. "My mom explained to me that babysitting is a huge responsibility but things like that (choking) rarely happen. It made feel better but I was still worried deep down inside." 

Jill's grandfather asked the new Safe SitterŪ grad about rescuing someone who was choking. Jill explained exactly how and why the procedure worked. Little did Jill know that this mental step-by-step review would prove invaluable just a few hours later.

As Jill hung out in her bedroom with some friends after class, they heard Lori screaming for help from the other end of the house. Lori, who was standing at her front door chatting with a neighbor, had given Jill's 7-year-old nephew, Everett, a piece of hard candy.

When Lori realized Everett was choking, her first thought was to call 911. Then, she remembered that Jill had just completed class that day and yelled for her. Jill ran as fast as she could when she heard her mother's cries for help.

"Everett was holding his throat, unable to talk or cough. I told him that he was going to be okay. I got behind him and did the abdominal thrusts," Jill said. "Two pieces of hard candy popped out on the third thrust. Then he vomited up everywhere-all over the floor, his feet and my feet!" While Lori cleaned up the floor, Jill comforted her nephew by rubbing his back and telling him that she loved him.

"He said in the funniest voice, 'That was really scary!'" Jill said, adding that within a few minutes Everett was back up and running. "I wouldn't have known what to do if I hadn't just learned it in my Safe SitterŪ class. I remembered what to do and to stay calm. I was so happy it worked!"