Gary Lannom knew every second would count if he were going to save a suffocating child.

Lannom, a building service worker, had just started his shift Feb. 12 in Life Science II when he heard a mother frantically screaming for someone to help her child, Lannom said. The mother yelled for him to call 911, but his phone had no signal, he said.

Rather than trying to use his phone to call for help, Lannom said he immediately chose to step in and help the 17-month-old child.

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“I thought, well if I get them on the phone I’ll be talking to them for like an hour,” he said. “Every second is going to count if he isn’t breathing.”

Annie Peng, a doctoral student from China studying plant biology, said her son had a fever that led to a seizure. She said she realized something was wrong and began yelling for help. She said she was confused and scared.

“I thought, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong,’ and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m going to lose him,” she said.

Lannom, who worked as a custodian in a hospital for nearly 14 years, said he picked up the child, took off his coat and laid him on the floor before trying to open his mouth to clear his airway. Lannom said he thought the child was choking, but hesitated to perform full-fledged CPR because it could be physically damaging.

“When I had him upside down, and had him in my arms, he was just limp as a rag, and his arms were sweeping the floor,” Lannom said.

Lannom said the incident quickly attracted between five and 10 bystanders. He said someone called 911, and police and an ambulance arrived on scene shortly thereafter.

Lannom flipped the child over when he realized his first method wasn’t working. While gently pushing on the child’s ribcage, he finally managed to pry open the child’s mouth with his thumb. He said liquid came out of the child’s mouth and the airway was opened.

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As the incident wrapped-up and the child resumed breathing, Lannom said he felt relieved. He said he handed the child to a police officer who had arrived at the building. Lannom said Peng’s child started playing with the officer’s chin – a sign of normalcy.

“I gave him to the cop and I got his coat to put his coat on him because it was raining outside,” he said. “They put him in the ambulance and took him.”

Jay Brooks, superintendent of building services, said he was proud that Lannom put all fears and reservations aside in order to reach out and help another human. Brooks said during his 29 years at the university, this is the first time he has known someone who has helped to save a life.

“I thought it was a very courageous act on Mr. Lannom’s part and a very humanistic, wonderful thing to do,” he said.

Interim Chancellor John Dunn said he was proud of Lannom and the courage he exhibited. He said he used the story to encourage his colleagues.

“I made reference to Gary and primarily in the context of what I call acts of kindness that go on everyday on this campus where people do responsible and very good things,” he said. “This is true of our faculty and its certainly true of our staff as well.”

Peng said the image of her son not breathing is haunting, but is glad the incident is over and her son recovered.

“I appreciate all the people that helped,” she said. “Especially Gary.”

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