Heimlich Saves A Life

Today, some coworkers took me out for lunch to celebrate my engagement.  We went to this cute diner (apparently New Jersey is known for their diners - NJ has more diners than any other place on earth, who knew?!) and were having a nice lunch.  I always enjoy the company of these folks so yah, everything's great.  I start hearing this weird noise behind me and I ignore it - I think it's a kid or something.  After hearing this for...a while, a guy with us says "Yah, that guy is definitely choking".  At this point, someone was already doing the Heimlich, but it was still scary.  It was a smaller guy, and he wasn't making much progress, so he asked for help.  One problem was he was trying to do the Heimlich on someone who was sitting - once he was up on his feet, it was a bit easier to dislodge the food.  After a TERRIFYING 60 seconds or so, the man's airway was cleared, and he was able to finish his lunch and go on with his day. 

The first thing I did when I got back to my computer was brush up on my Heimlich knowledge.  Did you know the Red Cross has modified their recommendations to alternate the traditional Heimlich "abdominal thrusts" with sharp blows to the back, between the shoulder blades?  I didn't!  I think it's definitely worth taking a minute or two to read how to do the Heimlich, or review if you've already learned how.  I watched it literally save a man's life 10 feet from me today.  It was kind of funny watching him shake hands and walk out of the restaurant when he could have been in serious trouble had someone in the restaurant not known what to do.  I hope none of you are ever in a situation where you would need to use the Heimlich, but spending a few minutes now could save another life!