Logan Cardinal, a Boy Scout who saved the life of a fellow Scout this past summer, received recognition at the Clovis City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 2.
Cardinal was having lunch at Camp Chawanakee, located at Shaver Lake, when he saved the life of Joseph Diaz on June 13.
“It was a typical day at camp. We just got finished with our merit badges, so we went to lunch. Then we started playing a card game and we all had snacks,” Diaz said. “I got some beef jerky and it got stuck in my throat. I started choking and dying.”
That’s when Cardinal applied the Heimlich Maneuver, a procedure used to save somebody from choking. Cardinal, who is currently in his third year at Camp Chawanakee, learned the move in his first year.
“It was just an instant action. I knew what to do and just did it,” Cardinal said.
“I know that my parents are extremely grateful for the action that Logan Cardinal did, saving my life,” Diaz said.
While Diaz’ parents were grateful, Cardinal’s parents were shocked when their son told them about what happened at camp.
“At the time, my back was hurting because I fell at the first day of camp,” Cardinal said. “This was like the third day. I was like, ‘Hey my back hurts. By the way, I saved Joseph.’ Then they were like, ‘Wait, what?”
“I truly believe that scouting is worth the time and energy for our kids,” said Joseph’s mother, Ruth Diaz. “It really does prepare them to save somebody’s life if there is a need for it.”