The Heimlich Maneuver, it works!

Hi,

Friday night, I was at a bar where a guy selling tamales came walking through. One of my friends bought a dozen, which we sampled one immediately and the rest were divvied up to take home.

While I was in the midst of making lemon tarts Saturday morning, my Mom came in looking for breakfast. I offered her to try the tamales from the night before, then returned to work. She's eating, inquiring about my evening and reading the paper. Suddenly she starts to cough violently. I didn't think much of it initially because I assumed it was something down the wrong way. Her coughing continued just a bit longer than usual, so I glanced up to see her struggling.

In a calm voice I inquired, "Do you have something down the wrong way or do you need the Heimlich Manuveur? Shake your head yes, if you need me." She starts gesturing yes, so I walked around the table. Put my hands underneath her arms and under her breasts, clenched my hands together like a fist and pulled up. The tamale popped out immediately. We were quite impressed it worked like a charm, then I returned to work because I was running against time.

It was much later in the day that I was struck by the magnitude of the action. Several people I told this to inquired if I broke her ribs, which I didn't. I thought it was a bit strange, like if she is alive, then is the inconvenience of a few broken ribs a big issue, hardly.

Since eating is a universal activity, then being acquainted with the Heimlich Maneuver is an essential skill in toolbox of life.

Regards,

Good job! Now go get CPR certified.
(I've let mine lapse, but with two other people in the house certified, I feel reasonably safe, and it's not like I've forgotten it)

I used the Heimlich last year on a middle school student who choked on a jolly rancher candy in my classroom. I was amazed at how easy it was to do, how quickly and automatically I was able to do it, and how much later, like you, the magnitude struck me.