About 17 years ago when my son was around 3 years old, I had the scare of my life.
It was just myself and the little guy in the house that night. I was watching T.V. in one room while he was playing with toys in his bedroom.
Suddenly, he came wobbling into the T.V. room with his face a horrible, bright, scarlet color and his two little hands grabbing at his throat. I will never, ever forget the expression that was on his face…
The strange thing was that I remained so very calm. In the split second it took to leap off the couch I already had formed my plan of action. I knew I would first try 3 vigorous raps to his back followed by the Heimlich Maneuver.
Fortunately the second whack to his upper back dislodged the culprit. A half sucked on Spree hard candy tumbled onto the floor.
The sad part is, that after it was all over I felt horribly anxious about his safety and still do to this day.
Something “broke” inside me during that choking episode and I’ve yet to get over it…
.
I’ve never had it performed on me, but I have had food caught in my throat a few times where I couldn’t cough it up and couldn’t get any air in. (Usually a piece of tortilla chip). I’ve told my wife that I’m sure I’m going to wind up dying from choking on food. Chew first then swallow… You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult.
I was around 13, my sister was about 2. My mother left us in the car while she was shopping (this was in 1979 or so, when such things were more common). My sister was eating Lifesavers, and started to choke. I did the Heimlich maneuver on her while she was wheezing for what was probably 15 seconds but felt like an hour. I’ll never forget the look of terror in her eyes. Finally the candy flew out of her mouth and she started screaming. By the time my mother got back to the car, both of us were crying. It took me 5 minutes to calm down enough to tell my mother what had happened.
I remember being taught this procedure in AF tech school, way BITD. They seemed very keen for us to know it, particularly because doing the standard tracheotomy was fraught with far more danger. Carried a Bic pen with me after that, and a scalpel blade, for the rest of my time in the service.
I prevented a preschooler from choking at my school. At her age I should have used the heimlich maneuver, but I did it as though she were an infant. The good news is she’s fine despite me doing it the wrong way
My sister probably saved me from choking on a piece of pizza, circa 1979. I’ll never forget because she won’t let me. Shakey’s, Highway 50, South Lake Tahoe.
(Maybe not. She went crazy and won’t talk to anybody in the family anymore.)
I had it used on me when I was a kid and it was still a particularly new procedure. Luckily my grandmother was a nurse. No, she didn’t use it on me; she was crap in an emergency that involved her family. One of her nurse friends was visiting and she saved me.
The spouse and I used it on a guy at KFC a few years back. I say “we” because he did the actual maneuver, but I was the one who spurred him to action and talked him through what to do. The choking guy was big and sitting back in the corner of a booth, and I knew there’d be no way I could move him enough to do it.
Weird thing was, everybody else in the restaurant (including the employees) just stood/sat there and stared, looking uncomfortable and indecisive.
I don’t have any evidence, but I’d wager that’s probably not all that weird, but rather the norm. Many people don’t know what to do…or they don’t feel confident about doing it…and probably doubt themselves if what’s happening is what they think it is. Or at least, that was my experience in the moments before I made myself move myself to do something. (does that make sense?)
It does, and I’m sure that’s what happened. I’d just have thought the employees (or at least the manager) had some training in what to do if someone was choking.
Back at uni in the 1980s, went out to ice cream shop/restaurant (kind of like a Friendlys) with my best friend and a mutual friend. Weird blabbermouth pal of the mutual friend tagged along uninvited. Seriously, one of those people who never stops talking and has no actual discretion gland between his brain and mouth. His conversation reminded us of those wind up toys that change direction when they bump into things. Harmless, but could be a bit exhausting to hang out with.
Anyway, we’re all sat at a booth tucking into various ice cream things, patiently listening to this guy natter on. He never exactly made eye contact, cos he’d be looking around constantly. So he’s wittering at full speed, head revolving like a radar dish, changing topics as quickly as his eye alights on something, when, without even pausing for breath, he gets up, walks over to another table, and calmly and precisely performs the HM on a woman who was truly choking and in great distress.
Dude never even broke his momentum. Kept yammering, gave her a reassuring pat, and then sat back down with us.
