NORWICH – Kathy Crandall has been babysitting children for 28 years, and has raised two of her own. After losing her grandson to SIDS 10 years ago, Crandall took a life-saving course, and last month, her skills were put to the test.

On Oct. 19, Crandall ran into another room to answer the telephone, and while her back was turned, her two-and-a-half-year old charge pulled a container of Lifesavers off a table. He managed to unscrew the top and pop a Lifesaver into his mouth while Crandall was in the other room.

“When I turned around, I saw him coming down the hallway. His arms were up in the air and his face was blue,” Crandall said. Thinking fast, she quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver techniques she had learned when she took the CPR course. “Everything just kicked in automatically,” Crandall said.

Crandall has been taking care of the little boy since he was only four months old. “He’s the light of my life,” she said. Afraid she might have hurt the boy when performing the life-saving procedure, Crandall called his parents, who came and picked him up, planning to take him to the doctor to have him checked out.