Saving a life

"I was drinking water and eating these little appetizers, threw down a piece of cheese and it just didn't work," John said Friday. "I was looking at him and couldn't breathe. He recognized it immediately and saved my life."

Who was he and what did he do?

The "he" was Clint Eastwood and he performed the Heimlich maneuver on PGA tournament director Steve John and perhaps saved his life.

The Heimlich Maneuver is relatively easy to perform and is best learned in a CPR training class offered by an organization like the Red Cross.

Your windpipe (trachea) connects to your esophagus and so it is possible for a piece of food to lodge into the opening of the windpipe keeping it shut so that you can't breathe (i.e. choking). The concept of the Heimlich Maneuver is to forcibly expel the air in your lungs causing the obstructing object to be dislodged like popping the cork from a bottle of champagne.

The basic steps are as follows:

"A choking victim can't speak or breathe and needs your help immediately. Follow these steps to help a choking victim:

1. From behind, wrap your arms around the victim's waist.
2. Make a fist and place the thumb side of your fist against the victim's upper abdomen, below the ribcage and above the navel.
3. Grasp your fist with your other hand and press into their upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Do not squeeze the ribcage; confine the force of the thrust to your hands.
4. Repeat until object is expelled.

Don't slap the victim's back. (This could make matters worse.)"

And here is a video on the Heimlich Maneuver:

Video 1. Instructions on performing the Heimlich Maneuver

Someday you may save a life like Clint Eastwood.