Presly Pinney with her sister Ava

How Did This Safe Sitter® Save A Life?

Like many parents, Renea Pinney knew her daughter, Presly, 11, would not willingly sign up for a babysitting class. So, she made her go. That decision, a case of “mother’s intuition”, helped save the life of her other daughter.

Renea works as a nurse at Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This is also where Presly took the Safe Sitter^® class. Because Renea works the night shift in the hospital’s ICU, she relies on Presly to watch after her younger daughter, Ava, 9, while she catches up on sleep after returning home.

Mother Knows Best

However, it wasn’t just for peace of mind that Renea thought it was a good idea to enroll Presly in a babysitting class. “She was reluctant so I had to force her to go,” Renea said. “I just had the feeling it was needed.” Renea would soon find out how right her feeling was.

Early one morning, just three weeks after Presly took Safe Sitter®, Renea was woken up by her older daughter who said she needed her mother to know that she’d just done something she’d learned in class.

“I thought it was the behavior tips and having to talk Ava down or something,” said Renea. “Presly said, ‘No, mom, she was choking.’” Half-asleep, the shocking news woke Renea right up and she wanted to know what happened.

How A Life Was Saved

Presly told her mother how Ava had been eating a hardboiled egg and began to cough. As the coughing continued, Presly kept an eye on Ava and watched as she tried to drink water hoping that would solve the problem. It didn’t. She stopped coughing and couldn’t talk. Next, she made wheezing sounds, and then no sounds at all.

That’s when Presly knew she had to step in because Ava’s life was in danger. Her face got white and her eyes got wide,” said Presly, who took the water from Ava and tried to get her on her knees.

Presly knew abdominal thrusts were needed to save Ava’s life but Ava wouldn’t cooperate. So, Presly got to her knees, got behind Ava, and performed two thrusts that dislodged the egg. Presley cleaned up the area and Ava went on as if nothing had happened­.

Safe Sitter® Made A Difference

Presly said she remembered to “stay calm,” words that are repeated in every Safe Sitter^® class. She also perfectly performed the choking rescue skill on a live person, which is more real and scary than performing it in class! “Real humans are a lot more squishy than the manikins,” Prelsy said.

Renea said she’ll tell anybody who will listen about Safe Sitter^®, and how valuable it was just weeks after her daughter completed a class. “God definitely had a hand in that one,” she said. “Had Presly not taken the class, she wouldn’t have reacted the way she did. Time would have been lost from waking me up. All things happen for a reason.”Help your child be a hero! Find a Safe Sitter® class near you.