Working in education can be difficult. With small budgets, big expenses, and lives that depend on your guidance— being a teacher (or teacher’s assistant) is a job with a lot of responsibility and pressure.
But one teacher’s assistant, Ginger Maxville from Mannford, Oklahoma, has proven herself to be cool as a cucumber under any circumstances— including possible death.
One day, while Ginger was driving the school bus, she noticed a 5-year-old boy named Cameron doing something weird in his seat.
She tells KTUL, “I thought he was teasing me and just not following my instructions and not sitting down.”
“What are you doing?” Ginger asks the boy. And Cameron’s sister informs her that she thinks he has swallowed a coin.
During the event, which was captured on the bus’s surveillance camera, you can hear Ginger exclaim, “He’s got a coin? Oh my Lord, are you serious?” before snapping off her seatbelt and immediately moving in to help.
Ginger quickly yet calmly grabs Cameron, pulling him towards her so that she can initiate the Heimlich maneuver.
She later describes the incident, telling KTUL, “I made sure the bus was secure, went back and grabbed the student. He was just red and gasping for air.”
In the video, Cameron is clearly terrified, but you can hear Ginger trying to reassure him throughout the ordeal: “It’s okay. You’re throwing up, but maybe at least you’ll throw [the coin] up.”
After a bit longer, you hear her say, “It’s okay. Got it, got it.”
Aand with that, the horrific, near-death experience is over, lasting only twenty, short seconds.
In an interview with Inside Edition, Ginger says that her behavior during the ordeal surprised her, explaining, “I was amazed I seemed so calm. I didn’t think I felt that calm at the time.”
When Cameron’s parents heard about what Ginger had done for their son, they showered her with flowers and candies— gifts which touched her deeply.
She tells Inside Edition, “I just cried. It’s been overwhelming. It’s so sweet when people pour their hearts out— I’m just really not used to that.
Steve Waldvogel, the superintendent of Mannford Public Schools, has said the school board will be using the footage of Ginger as an example for bus drivers to follow in training.
Despite her heroic actions and the subsequent praise she has received, Ginger remains modest about the incident, telling KTUL:
“I feel like I don’t deserve a lot of credit. It was just God working through me— but I am glad we got it done.”
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