[TRANSCRIPT]

Rosina Switras

Last week, on Monday May 23rd, 96-year-old Dr. Henry Heimlich, used his namesake lifesaving technique to save the life of 87-year-old Patty Gill Ris, a woman who was choking on a hamburger. The Heimlich maneuver was created in 1974 and was named after Heimlich by the American Medical Association.

The incident took place at “the Deupree House, a senior living community in Cincinnati, Ohio.” Heimlich saw the woman choking and stated, “She has all the signs of choking because, as I say, her lips were puffed out, and she obviously wasn’t breathing.” Heimlich was a chest surgeon. His incident on Monday was the first time he had ever used the maneuver in a life or death situation.

Evan Perry Gaines, maître d’ of the complex, has used the Heimlich twice this year. When he heard a resident was choking, he ran into action. Gaines stated, “I stopped what I was doing and waited to see if [Heimlich] needed any assistance… of course, he didn’t.”

Henry Heimlich’s invention has saved over 50,000 people in America. Seems like Henry’s table will always have people wanting to sit next to him.