Dr Henry Heimlich, the 96-year-old Cincinnati surgeon credited with inventing the lifesaving technique named after him, used it for the first time this week to save a fellow senior citizen who was choking on a hamburger.
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Dr. Henry Heimlich never used his namesake maneuver on an individual who was really choking until last Monday night.
In a video interview provided to the newspaper, the woman says she later wrote a note to Heimlich that said, “God put me in this seat next to you”. When he heard a resident was choking, he rushed into the dining hall, only to see Dr. Heimlich already at work.
Reportedly Dr. Heimlich has demonstrated the now famous technique many times throughout the world, but apparently had never used it himself in a life-threatening situation.
Staff stood back while Heimlich turned Patty Ris, aged 87, around in her chair and performed the manoeuvre.
Though Heimlich maintains it was his first instance of using the technique he originated, a BBC article from 2003 suggests otherwise.
Heimlich’s instructions are displayed on posters required to be displayed in most restaurants in the United States, although some laws have been discontinued.
In celebration of Dr. Heimlich’s first-ever Heimlich Maneuver, and also, Friday, here’s a sample of its many, many cinematic appearances.
“I did the Heimlich [Maneuver] – of course”, Heimlich told the Guardian. Heimlich was in Boston to honor 53 people who successfully performed the maneuver to save the lives of choking victims. “I did it, and a piece of food with some bone in it flew out of her mouth”.
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The incident happened during a meal at the senior living center, when Ris suddenly started choking on a piece of burger. “I felt it was just confirmation of what I had been doing throughout my life”, the retired 96-year-old thoracic surgeon said. “I couldn’t breathe for a long time”.
