IT’S A GOD THING

IT’S A GOD THING

By Mark Reed

This is a true story. It is important, I believe, because it just may save a life. I know first hand that what I’m going to share here will save a life. Yesterday, a good friend shared his story with me, and verified what I already knew.

I’m not going to be using names here, because that is not important. What is important is that my friend saved a life – the life of his grandson.

A few nights ago, my friend and his wife kept their grandchildren for a sleep over – a girl five-years old and a boy seven-years old. His daughter-in-law, the mother of the children, came by the next day to get the children. They all decided to have dinner before they left. Mom and grandmother were in the kitchen dining area feeding the children first. My friend was in the next room divided from the kitchen by a kitchen counter. He was seated in a chair with his back to the kitchen.

It was then that he heard a terrible gurgling scream of sorts coming from the kitchen. He called over his shoulder asking what was going on. He heard the noise again, and once again called out asking what was going on. No answer. He got up and walked into the kitchen.

The scene he witnessed was horrifying. His seven year-old grandson was half sitting, half standing in his chair at the table, hands at his throat, his face turning blue, unable to talk. The mom and grandmother were anxiously asking him if he was all right. My friend knew immediately what was going on. His grandson was choking to death with something stuck in his throat. My friend rushed to the boy grabbed him, put his arms around him holding a wrist positioned just below the rib cage and gave a mighty squeeze.

Out popped an object, which shot, across the room. It was a fireball hard candy. He obviously was trying to eat his meal with the fireball still in his mouth, and inadvertently swallowed the fireball with a mouthful of food. The boy was immediately out of major distress, although he was still suffering the trauma of almost choking to death.

The story actually starts a week or so before this life saving event. My friend was in a restaurant having lunch by himself. In come four men in work clothes. They get their food and take the table next to my friend. One of the men, after taking a bite of his sandwich, started to exhibit the classic signs of choking. He was obviously in distress, could not talk, grabbed his throat and his face started turning blue. This all happened fast. One of his buddies immediately recognized that his friend was choking. He jumped up ran behind his friend, pulled him to a standing position, put his arms around the mans chest, grabbed his wrist with the other hand, positioned it just below the rib cage and gave a mighty squeeze…out popped a wad of sandwich, and the friend could immediately breath again. He sat down, composed himself for a moment and then continued eating his sandwich.

My friend observed all this from a few feet away. Like many of us, he had heard of the Heimlich Maneuver, but did not know how to do it properly and had never seen it done. He cataloged the event in his brain.

I submit to you that my friend saved his grandson’s life. The mother and grandmother did not know how to do the Heimlich Maneuver, and my friend did not know how to do it until witnessing it in the restaurant. Any way you want to shake it, there is no doubt in my friend’s mind, nor in mine, that this was a God thing. Without my friend witnessing the Maneuver, his grandson would have likely died.

There is another piece of the story that is important. I am the one who gave the fireballs to my friend, which he had in a bowl for people to sample. After my friend relayed this story to me, I remarked, “I almost killed your grandson.” We both sorta chuckled darkly at that. Here is the important thing to remember – according to doctors, do not allow children under the age of ten to have hard candy, because of the risk of choking.

The moral of this story is that we each need to learn how to properly administer the Heimlich Maneuver. Take a course or at the very least go online to U-Tube and watch a tutorial so you will be prepared to possibly save a life.

I don’t remember exactly when I learned how to do it, but it was many years ago. Many of you will remember seeing Bill Murray use it in a scene from his movie “Groundhog Day.” I used it to save the life of my black Lab, Shadow, but that is another story.

Do yourself a favor. The Heimlich Maneuver saves lives.