CPR works!

Memorial Day could have been a most tragically memorable day at our house.

While Nancy and I were eating a barbeque chicken dinner, she suddenly started choking on her meat. This was no ordinary choking, like sometimes happens when something wants to go down the wrong pipe. This time it WENT down the wrong pipe -- and got lodged halfway in her trachea. And she couldn't breathe. Like, no air was exchanging. Like, do something NOW or this will be a bad night.

I moved behind her and told her to stand. When she did, I did the Heimlich maneuver on her. And just like the CPR classes show in their training videos, meat popped out of her mouth.

Whew!

So, what's the moral? If you don't know what the Heimlich maneuver is -- learn it. Get signed up for a CPR class at your local Red Cross or other health agency. It is WELL worth the money for the Basic Life Support (BLS) class. It's more likely you will be with someone who is choking on food than who passes out with a heart attack (although CPR can buy the person precious minutes while the ambulance is on the way to you).

If you DO know what it is, and haven't recertified in BLS, get recertified -- if for no other reason than to maintain your confidence that you can save someone's life.

And finally, if you ever wondered, "Does that stuff we learn in CPR really work?" I can assure you -- thanks be to God -- it does.

rich
rmaffeo@comcast.net