milovany Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 WTG, Bill. We had a nurse friend save our then 2yo dd's life using the Heimlich about 17 years ago. It happened after church as we were all standing around. I never felt worried as I watched her try three different times to dislodge the hard candy from my dd's throat. She finally did, we thanked her profusely and soon went home. We found out later that she -- much like you describe -- while calm and methodical during the emergency, later went in to another room at the church and just broke down. We saw her again recently and she said she hasn't used the Heimlich since (hasn't needed to), but that she is very glad she knew what to do then. We are too! To the Lindas and Bills of the world, from the loved ones of those you saved, thank you! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartosunshine Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well I just saw my neighbor. Was she happy to see me. Hugs all around. Boy do I feel grateful for how things turned out. Bill So glad you were there and able to help her! :hurray: I know exactly how you feel. When my son was 3, I walked into a room & he was standing there with a panicked look on his face. I knew he had just eaten a piece of hard candy. I asked him if he was choking and he couldn't talk, so I grabbed him & did the Heimlich but it didn't work. I told him sorry because I knew I was going to have to do it much harder & I was afraid of breaking some ribs. It worked the second time. Out popped the candy & we both sat crying for a while. It's very emotional, even now 12 years later. I'm so grateful that I was in the right place at the right time and could do what was needed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I have a more light-hearted Heimlich story. Many years ago when dd was a baby, we were on vacation. We couldn't afford to stay at this fancy resort, but we could afford one nice dinner there at their restaurant. Before we went into the swanky restaurant, we walked along their lake front which had a lot of small pebbles. We didn't know that dd had scooped up a pebble and put it in her mouth until we were seated in the restaurant and she started to choke. I grabbed her from the high chair, put her over my knee and gave her back a sharp whack. Out popped the pebble, and to our horror, it went skipping across that nice polished floor. But everyone in the restaurant just went on eating and talking as if nothing happened. So high class! So after we got our giggle fit under control, we did the same. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 So glad you were there and able to help her! :hurray: I know exactly how you feel. When my son was 3, I walked into a room & he was standing there with a panicked look on his face. I knew he had just eaten a piece of hard candy. I asked him if he was choking and he couldn't talk, so I grabbed him & did the Heimlich but it didn't work. I told him sorry because I knew I was going to have to do it much harder & I was afraid of breaking some ribs. It worked the second time. Out popped the candy & we both sat crying for a while. It's very emotional, even now 12 years later. I'm so grateful that I was in the right place at the right time and could do what was needed. That's a good point - Both times I've done it, it's taken more than once to dislodge the item. I didn't realize that it worked that way, until I had to do it myself. So as a "file away in case you need the info" thought, yes, it does sometimes have to be done several times before it's fully effective. Once you've seen that panicked look - the "I can't talk but I need you to understand what's going on and help me" look, you never forget it. ((( <3 hugs <3 ))) to everyone who has gone through this. How lucky we are to live in an age when info like this is widely known. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Yeah. I think it took me 3 times. I was thinking "don't break a rib, don't break a rib." The last time I gave it a little extra gusto, and it did the trick. It was not easy, in part, because at this point she was totally "dead weight." When I spoke to my neighbor today she had no memory of what happened (other than the stories she was told by her family). But she was her old chipper self. Amazing woman. Bill 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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