Mundelein teacher's aide lauded as hero for saving kindergartner

A teacher's aide in Mundelein is being lauded as a hero after she acted quickly Wednesday to save a kindergartner who was choking on his lunch.

Jenny Remeikis, an aide at Washington Early Learning Center, was with students eating lunch about 11:35 a.m. when she noticed the 6-year-old boy struggling after he ate grapes and a bun, Principal Jim Kallieris said.

Remeikis moved fast to perform the Heimlich maneuver, clearing the boy's airway and allowing him to breathe again, Kallieris said. He was later examined by a school nurse, and his parents were informed of what happened.

"We are very proud of our hero, Jenny Remeikis, and believe that she should be commended for her heroic actions in the heat of the moment," Kallieris wrote Wednesday in an email to Mundelein Elementary District 75 officials.

Kallieris said Remeikis is in her first year at Washington but has worked in Mundelein Elementary District 75 for about 16 years.