DATE: Saturday, September 20, 1997          TAG: 9709200390

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   52 lines

BOY SAVES A CHOKING CLASSMATE AT SCHOOL

Twelve-year-old Thomas Van de Water was ``bored'' one day last year, so he flipped through the pages of a Boys Life magazine. Waiting for a ride, he studied a drawing explaining the Heimlich maneuver.

On Thursday, Van de Water's boredom saved a life.

As students were crowding out of the Blair Middle School cafeteria, one of them, Patrick Melshem, took a final bite of an apple before tossing it. Moments later, ``he started choking,'' said Peter Squicciarini, 12, who was standing nearby.

At first, ``we thought he was just fooling around,'' Squicciarini said. But when Melshem turned to a teacher, he could barely whisper. ``He was mouthing, `I can't breathe.' ''

Van de Water heard the soft, yet urgent, plea.

``It was in a little, tiny voice, like a hoarse voice,'' Van de Water said. ``He was, like, reddish-blue. I just thought, `Oh, my gosh. This kid can't breathe.' '' With barely a thought, he jumped to action.

``I ran around the table as fast as I could and got behind him. I said, `Patrick, I'm going to give you the Heimlich maneuver.' And I did it,'' Van de Water said. ``He coughed up the apple.''

Actually, it went flying across the room.

``It was pretty disgusting, actually,'' Squicciarini said.

Melshem was taken to the school health office and, after a quick checkup, was sent on his way. His father picked him up.

``Basically, he saved the kid's life,'' said Paul Melshem, Patrick's father. ``It's quite amazing, just the speed with which he reacted. We're very thankful for what Thomas did. He's superb, a great young man.''

He said his son is ``doing great, swell.'' He also took time to call the Van de Water house. ``I talked with Thomas and thanked him and thanked his mother,'' he said.

Van de Water, who lives with his family in downtown Norfolk, said it was just dumb luck that he read the Boys Life. He's not a member of the Boy Scouts, for whom the magazine is published.

As he had scanned the pages, his eyes had paused on a page about the Heimlich maneuver.

``They had, like, a picture and a little saying at the bottom explaining it,'' he said. The images and words stuck.

He said he felt no sense of panic as he tried to perform the maneuver Thursday. When nothing came out the first time, he just did it again.

Looking back on the moment, Van de Water said he ``feels really good.'' But still, ``it's so hard for me to believe I saved this kid's life.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Thomas Van de Water KEYWORDS: CHOKING HEIMLICH MANEUVER HERO

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