Heart-Pounding Video Shows Neighbor Saving 7-Year-Old Who Was Choking in His Mom’s Arms

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When you’re in a crisis, it’s beyond helpful to know that there are people around who know how to help you. Sometimes that person is a first responder, and sometimes that person is someone closer, like a neighbor. Having a neighbor you can count on is such a lucky thing.

One mom knew that she had a neighbor that could help when her young son was choking. Not only did the man help her, but his doorbell camera caught the whole thing on video, and it shows the power of community.

The child has a genetic disorder that effects his ability to eat.

Illinois mom Stephanie George, has a 7-year-old son, Sebastian. The little boy has a genetic disorder called Cornelia de Lange syndrome, and because of it, he eats through a feeding tube, George told ABC station WLS-TV, per ABC News.

When he began choking, the mom felt panicked.

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George explained that a piece of chicken that hadn’t blended well enough became stuck in her son’s throat. He then began choking.

“I grabbed my phone to call 911, but as I was reaching for my phone and unlocking it and typing in the number and looking to assess Sebastian, he was already blue. And that’s when I started to panic,” she said.

She knew that there was someone else who could help.

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An Illinois man saved his neighbor's choking child in a moment that was captured in doorbell camera footage. In the video, the child's mother, Stephanie George, can be seen running over to her neighbor's house carrying her 7-year-old son. George's son, Sebastian, has a rare genetic condition called Cornelia de Lange syndrome and eats through a feeding tube, she told Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV. On Saturday evening, a piece of chicken that didn't blend up finely enough became lodged in Sebastian's throat, and she quickly realized he was choking. Fearing it would take emergency responders too long to arrive, George grabbed her son and carried him across the street to the home of her neighbor, Gary Hutchinson. In the moment captured on the doorbell camera, Hutchinson can be seen answering the door, then laying Sebastian across his knee and gently hitting him on the back until the stuck food was dislodged. Hutchinson said he has taken CPR training and is grateful he was able to help his neighbors in their time of need.

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George worried that first responders would take too long to get to her home, so she carried the boy across the street to the home of her neighbor, Gary Hutchinson.

The interaction with Hutchinson was caught on the doorbell camera. In the video, you can see him lay Sebastian over his knee, gently hitting him on the back to try to dislodge the food in his throat. Hutchinson, who is CPR trained, was glad that he could be there to help.

George is grateful she has a neighbor who knew what to do.

“I did exactly the way I was trained — hold the airway open, put the baby on my leg, slight thrust to the upper back,” Hutchinson explained. “They taught us in the class that when you need it, you’ll know it.”

Despite George coming off as calm in the video, she shared that the experience shook her. Sebastian recovered quickly, and she’s giving her neighbor a lot of credit for his help. “Things could have been so much worse,” she said.

People praised both George and Hutchinson for their quick thinking.

“The calmest ‘I’m panicking’ I’ve ever seen,” one person commented on TikTok. “Which probably made the process a whole lot better for everyone involved.”

Another wrote: “What a great neighbor. He remained calm and saved his life.”  

“Parents of children with special needs have mastered the calm panic,” someone else commented. “My heart breaks for her in so glad he’s okay.”

“She did everything correct!” another person praised. “She asked for help, she remained calm, she saw the first signs of choking. God bless her and the child.”