Dr Heimlich, now 96, uses his trademark manoeuvre to save woman from choking at restaurant
Choking victim Patty Ris said she couldn’t breathe and Heimlich rushed over to stand her up and dislodge the food.
The 96-year-old retired chest surgeon credited with developing the namesake Heimlich manoeuvre has used it to save a woman choking on food at his senior living centre.
Dr Henry Heimlich was in the dining room at the Deupree House in Cincinnati, where he lives, when an 87-year-old woman sitting next to him began choking Monday night.
The dining room maitre d’, Perry Gaines, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that Heimlich dislodged a piece of hamburger from the woman’s airway and she quickly recovered.
Heimlich said he was having dinner when he looked over at the woman sitting next to him and could see that her face was growing pink and she was obviously choking. He said he got up behind her and began the technique.
“As soon as I did the Heimlich manoeuvre, a piece of meat with a bone in it immediately popped out,” he said.
I definitely would have died right then and there. There was no doubt about it
Choking victim Patty Ris said on Friday that she couldn’t breathe and Heimlich rushed over to stand her up and dislodge the food.