Dr. Henry Heimlich (L), the 96-year-old Cincinnati surgeon credited with inventing the life-saving technique named for him, poses with Patty Ris, 87, who he saved this week from choking on a hamburger, at the Deupree House seniors' home in Cincinatti, Ohio, U.S. May 27, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
"I ordered a hamburger, and the next thing I know, I could not breathe I was choking so hard," new resident Patty Ris told The New York Times.
The doctor, who leapt into action in the middle of the evening meal, developed the first aid technique back in 1974. It involves ending an obstruction in a choking person's airway by giving a hug from behind and squeezing the person's abdomen.
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"I saw her face was all stiffened up and her skin was turning dark and she could not speak," Heimlich told the Times. "Of all things, I knew she was choking."
"When I used it, and she recovered quickly," Heimlich told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "it made me appreciate how wonderful it has been to be able to save all those lives."
A staff member at the home in Ohio said residents went back to dining after Heimlich's life-saving maneuver. His new neighbor later sent him a thank-you note.
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