Stephanie Cooper is like any good parent. When she saw her 11-month-old son Eli began to choke on a plastic wrapper, she sprang into action.
Stephanie flipped the toddler over and began whacking his back. After several failed attempts at dislodging the piece of plastic, she began to panic.
Stephanie ran outside to look for help and noticed her mailman nearby.
Postal carrier Chris Brown saw Stephanie holding Eli, who was still fighting for his life. Chris quietly took Eli from his mother’s arms and cradled the tyke’s body close to his own. He then began to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the infant. Moments later, the wrapper flew out of Eli’s mouth and the boy began to cry.
Chris is a 24-year-veteran of the postal service. He was taught basic emergency skills as part of his training with the post office. Saving Eli was the first time that Chris had used that training.
Stephanie believes that fate brought Chris to their home at that exact moment in time. She and her husband have hailed their mailman a hero, but Chris feels that he was simply doing his job.
“I’m not a hero,” Chris said. “I would have done this for anyone and hope that they would do the same for my children.”>