Luka blooms under pressure

A YOUNG Strabane lad who saved his little brother’s life on Christmas Eve has been hailed a ‘hero’.

Eight-year-old Luka Ritchie performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on his brother Jensen when the four-year-old began to choke on a lollipop. Luka leaned the life-saving skills watching a YouTube video.

Recalling his heroics, Luka explained, “I was sitting at home with my little brother Jensen on Christmas Eve morning in the kitchen. Mum and dad were upstairs, and Jensen wanted a pop out of his selection box. Dad said to give it to him, and he would be downstairs in a minute. After a minute or two, I noticed Jensen wasn’t himself and he was crying. I knew that something was wrong.”

The Strabane PS pupil recognised the signs that his little brother was choking and sprung into action.

“Straight away, I grabbed Jensen and pulled him back. I had seen the Heimlich manoeuvre on a YouTube video called ‘How To Survive Choking’ so knew exactly what to do. I squeezed Jensen as hard as I could, trying to let the air get up out of his stomach so the pop would come up as well. After a few tries, I ran upstairs shouting for mum and dad before trying again. It was after five or six tries the pop came up and flew out of Jensen’s mouth. I was so relieved when he began breathing normally. I love my little brother so much and I don’t know what I would do without him.”

Jensen began to cry, initially thinking Luka had tried to hurt him but once he realised what had happened, Luka’s little brother was eternally grateful for his intervention, thanking Luka for saving his life.

Luka’s mum Karlee Kelly said her son ‘isn’t your average eight-year-old.’

“Luka has a very inquisitive mind, and he is forever watching YouTube to learn different subjects, he is especially a fan of history and science. One of Luka’s favourite subjects right now is the Titanic, so we’ve been letting him watch a lot of videos on that.”

Karlee continued, “If it weren’t for Luka watching that particular video God knows what would have happened. If I had been in the room, I wouldn’t have known what to do in all honesty. It could have been a much worse Christmas.

“His father and I don’t allow Luka to watch any videos on YouTube after six o’clock, we try and not let him watch too many screens. Now that it’s come in handy, we might let that rule relax a wee bit, “she joked.

After it was all over, the excitement of a special visitor that night overtook the day’s drama, with the boys tucked up in bed early that evening in anticipation of Santa’s visit.

“Everyone, especially me and my partner Darron, is so proud of Luka and what he did to save his little brother. Even Santa heard about it and there was an extra surprise left under the Christmas tree for Luka the next morning to thank him for his bravery,” Karlee added. “Luka is definitely his little brother’s big hero.”