A few seconds later, and Jordan Tyler would have been too late.

He was in his parents' room last week playing on a computer with his sister when his mom started choking. His sister, Shaelie, saw her mom struggling to breathe and got Jordan's attention.

Jordan wasted little time.

"I just thought about it for a second," he said. Then the 13-year-old sprang into action and used the Heimlich maneuver on his mother, Kristina Tyler, to prevent her from choking to death.

The Taylorsville teen learned the technique as part of his Boy Scout first-aid training with West Valley City Troop 4421.

Kristina said a piece of meat was lodged in her throat. After her son helped her, it took a few minutes for her to regain her composure and grasp the magnitude of his action.

"I had no idea what he was capable of," she said. "Had he not done what he did, I wouldn't be here today."

Jordan's father was also amazed by his son's quick thinking. "I knew, being an Eagle Scout myself, that he would have learned something like this," Larry Tyler said. "It takes somebody special to keep their mind clear. I'm very proud of him."

While Jordan has spent some time talking to the media, he is mostly soaking up his parents' praise. But his newfound hero status didn't allow him to play hookey.

"He is a hero around the house," his father said. "He still had to go to school today."

Saving his mother's life was more than enough to convince Jordan that knowledge of the Heimlich maneuver should be widespread. "People should know it," he said.

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E-mail: smansell@desnews.com