My stepbrother was chowing down with my father today at some barbeque place in Sacramento (Texas Barbeque or some such place) when he heard my father making a weird constricting ‘whee’ noise. Brother G looked up to see my father’s eyes filled with fear.
“Are you okay?” asked Brother G.
My father shook his head ‘no’.
“Are you choking?”
My father nodded.
Brother G’s biggest fear in life is to witness someone choking, a childhood memory he never wanted to re-live. Later in life, he took a basic first aid course a long time ago where he learned something very important.
He got up and stood behind my father to perform the Heimlich maneuver, once, then twice to no avail.
“Stand up,” he told my father.
Other people in the restaurant stopped what they were doing. Chairs from other tables scraped across the floor as they stood. To help? Or to helplessly watch?
Brother G performed the Heimlich again and dislodged whatever lunch mass was blocking his airway.
“Are you okay now?” Brother G asked.
“Yes,” said my father.
Brother G sat down. Everyone else slowly stopped staring while a waitress came over and asked if Dad was okay.
“I am now,” said Dad.
Brother G told me that in less than a minute my father’s fork was back in his mouth.
“Boy, you scared the shit out of me just now,” said Brother G, a sweaty shaky mess.
“Well, how do you think I felt?” asked Dad.
And I thought I wasn’t going to have anything to blog about today. Gee, thanks, Dad!
Hey, while you’re here, could you do me a solid and click on this link which will bump me up a bit in the Sacto Top 25 rankings? That’s it, just one click, nothing else. Thanks, man.
Now go tell someone you love them. Before they choke to death on some pork ribs.
My top 3 list of fears:
1. choking
2. watching someone choke
3. reading about someone choking
I’m glad your dad is OK.
Go Bother G!
No, go bRother G. Don’t bother him, he did a good thing AND gave you blog fodder!
I choked on a lifesaver when I was about 2 years old. Insert your own joke here. Dad had to do the heimlich. Scared the crap out of my older sister who had given me the candy!
Glad your Dad is OK!
Wow, I’m glad that he’s ok..
Oh my goodness, what drama! I had a girlfriend in college who was heimliched in the middle of a Country Kitchen after a night of drinking. The restaurant was packed, and some dude ran over to her table and picked her up and did the heimlich and a chunk of pancake went shooting across the room! Then everyone in the restaurant stood up and cheered. So. Awesome.
Thanks for stopping by the Short Bus!
i’m certified for life-guard and nursing aid…
but i believe my nerves would have befuddled anything i had learned prior to that moment.
My friend did this once for a cutomer when we werewaitressing together back in the 80’s. She got employee of the month.
Oh. My. God. The wierd thing about someone who has The Maneuver done to them is after they almost DIE, they’re FINE
Yee-ikes.
Wow, your brother’s greatest fear seems to have been good for your dad!
Glad your dad’s OK. But of course, he finished his lunch. It was BBQ!
And that’s why we have families and blogs! Can’t have one without the other! 🙂
Yikes. I held my breath all the way through this post. So glad it had a happy ending.
BBQ: approach with caution.
Gonna go click now. I’ll pretty much do whatever you tell me to. I’m ripe to be harvested by some cult.
Not a funny story, but you sure know how to make an exit with a last line :>)
I clicked. Do I get a beer or what?
I’m so glad your dad is okay!!
That was nice of him to give you something to write about too! You should keep him around.
my biggest fear is my son choking. I pray I could do as good of a job as your brother. Man that had to of been a scary ass feeling.
Wow. Scary. Good for Brother G, knowing what to do.
my sister used to call me nanny gee goats when i was little. then she turned bipolar and went fucking nuts.
anyway, you bring up a good point. what does one do when another patron of whatever eating establishment you are eating at, starts choking and they have someone at their table.
i would feel the need to do something, but i don’t know how to do shit.
Clearly the father had just seen the movie Choke and was merely imitating what he saw during the film. If he hasn’t, go take him to see it NOW.
I just made pork ribs the other day, in my oven. For the first time I had good oven pork ribs.
haha…wow. That would scare me to death. I wouldn’t know what to do. That sort of makes me want to learn the heimlich! I’m off to click that link.
Wait…is it right to smiley a post about how your dad almost died? Hmmmmm…..
that heiney lick maneuver saves the day again.
Glad your dad is ok, totally glad G knew what to do.
The last line on this post? Golden. Go tell someone you love them before they choke on some ribs. Too much!!
Oh my gosh! Thank God your dad is OK.
And could keep eating.
I mean, if the food was good, why let it go to waste right? People in China are starving, you know.
yikes! ha I love that he finished his lunch:)
A friend of mine had that happen to him when he was home alone…he threw himself over the back of a chair over and over until it came out. That works, if you can keep your head and do it.
Score another one for Heimlich! It is much more effective than the Hamlisch Maneuver (as shown on Saturday Night Live).
My grandson did that with a grape. I had a panic attack and then promptly flipped him upside down. Yeah, wrong move and it would have been difficult to do if it had been my Dad. 🙂
The food wins. Okay, that comment made me laugh out loud.
holy wicked bbq! glad bro G saved your dad!
Good heavens, woman! I’m glad your dad is all right.
Alex L., that was just gross. Now I have to go visit your blog.
that is one of my fears in life! or that i would be home alone if it happened, like to mama cass, remember that? your brother is a hero!!!
smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
(going to click now)
I clicked…i am easy like that
Glad Dad is Okay!
Oh man, my biggest fear! So glad your brother knew what to do, I would have peed my pants.
Glad to here that your dad is okay. What a scary ordeal!
My mother is a nurse, and whenever we would be in a restaurant when I was younger, she would always look around at the sound of a baby coughing. I do the same thing now. I guess I always have a fear of the parents not knowing what to do if their baby chokes.
that happened to me once at a restaurant with a bunch of colleagues. quite embarrassing, but i was glad to have educated folks around who could help! glad your pop is okay!
That’s so my Dad – but it would have been Carolina BBQ. Texas style is way too smokey – eww.
Kudos to Brother G! Do you think he’ll get bumped up in the will?
Em
If you almost choke you dont stop eating, hell no. Then the food wins, you have to get back in there, shovel it down…
I almost coked once, a lolly/candy perfect choking size it was. I mananged to cough it back up, at which point I kept sucking on it.