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| Bob and I at seventeen |
We were meeting a couple for the first time at a wonderful German Restaurant and we were having Prime Rib. My very first bite went down wrong and so did the second piece. I am an over achiever and no sense choking on one thing when I can do two pieces.
The first piece of meat stopped and then the second piece hit the first piece and I knew I had a problem. The problem was immediately apparent when I tried to cough up the meat and nothing happened and when I tried to breathe nothing happened.
I turned to Bob who was watching me and I shook my head and stood up at the same time he did. You would have thought we had practiced this maneuver many many times. Bob stepped in behind as I stood and wrapped his arms around me, he knew exactly how to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Through all of this both of us were calm as if this was a normal thing in our lives. After a couple tries one piece of meat moved and two more times and second piece of meat moved.
I gave Bob a quick kiss on the cheek as tears were rolling down his face, reached over to the table, grabbed a napkin and picked up the offending pieces of meat off of the floor. Then we both sat down, I swallowed a little water and we proceeded as if nothing had happened. There was never any panic or doubt in my mind that Bob would know what to do and solve my problem as he has for 37 years.
The other couple had a dazed look on their faces as I started eating my steak again in much smaller pieces! We spent a few more hours talking trucking and sharing mutual experiences and had a wonderful afternoon.
That evening I started noticing my ribs hurting and by morning I realized how much force Bob used to perform the Heimlich. Without the force he used I do not think the meat would have dislodged. Realizing now if I would have had to perform this on Bob he would have had to remain seated
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| Bob and I much older.... |
so that I could get the right angle.
Bob has never attended a first aid class to learn this maneuver. He learned by reading the posters that are on walls in various public buildings.
Here is a link to look ever how to perform this procedure; you never know when you might become a hero.
http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-the-Heimlich-Maneuver
How to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on yourself
http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-the-Heimlich-Maneuver-on-Yourself