{"id":15434,"date":"2026-09-25T14:52:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=15434"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:52:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:52:49","slug":"security-assistant-saves-the-day-for-independence-middle-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/security-assistant-saves-the-day-for-independence-middle-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Security assistant saves the day for Independence Middle student"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Independence Middle School security assistant Willie Keels was nearby in the school cafeteria recently when sixth grader Caiden Jensen needed some help.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By <\/em>Cindy Butler Focke<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Sept. 9 started as an ordinary day at school for Caiden Jensen.<\/p>\n

But that suddenly changed.<\/p>\n

The Independence Middle School sixth grader was eating lunch with friends in the cafeteria when he began to choke.<\/p>\n

Security assistant Willie Keels just happened to be standing nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe ran to me,\u201d Keels recalled. \u201cThe kids were stunned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keels said Caiden\u2019s face was very red as he pointed to his neck, unable to speak.<\/p>\n

Something was obviously lodged in Caiden\u2019s throat, and he couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n

The security assistant\u2019s adrenaline and training kicked in.<\/p>\n

He and other VBCPS security personnel were recently certified in emergency first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the Heimlich maneuver and use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED).<\/p>\n

Keels said he tried to remain calm as he began the Heimlich maneuver, also known as the abdominal thrust, to dislodge the food item.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018Oh my gosh, it\u2019s gotta work,\u2019 \u201d Keels said.<\/p>\n

After three tries, the piece of mozzarella stick lodged in Caiden\u2019s throat burst out, enabling him to breathe again. They immediately headed to the school nurse\u2019s office to get checked out.<\/p>\n

Caiden said he appreciated the security assistant\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took too big of a bite and it went down too fast and it seemed to get stuck in my throat,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

Keel\u2019s quick action prevented the unthinkable, said Caiden\u2019s mother Stephanie Jensen, who received a phone call from the school immediately after the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of shocking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After she arrived at school, they showed her video footage of Keels helping her son.<\/p>\n

She is very grateful to the security assistant for taking quick action. \u201cCaiden was in good hands,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Principal Christy McQueeney called Keels \u201ca shining star.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of Mr. Keels, something that could have been devastating ended happily,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so blessed to have a security team that cares about our students and does whatever they need to do to keep students safe at Independence Middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keels grew teary-eyed as he recalled being nearby when Caiden began choking. He regularly circulates through the cafeteria to keep lunch lines orderly, ensure floors are clean and monitor students.<\/p>\n

The date was six months to the day that his grandmother-who raised him-passed away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was right there,\u201d Keels said. \u201cI was thankful God was about to use me in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caiden and the security assistant agreed they now have a special bond.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe saved my life from ending early,\u201d Caiden said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cindy Butler Focke Sept. 9 started as an ordinary day at school for Caiden Jensen. But that suddenly changed. The Independence Middle School sixth grader was eating lunch with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":15435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-staff-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15434"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15436,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15434\/revisions\/15436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}