Customers help revive man choking at Ann Arbor restaurant
Customer's helped revive a man Friday at Mark's Midtown Coney Island on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
June, co-owner of Mark's Midtown Coney Island, 3586 Plymouth Road, said that's when a customer began choking or at least having trouble breathing.
"My cashier noticed him choking and asked for me," said June. Another customer started slapping the victim on the back. "I helped to dislodge some food from his mouth, but he locked up on me. Then he quit breathing."
That's when Matt Schaecher entered the restaurant and saw a group of people standing around the man slumped over in a chair. Schaecher is the director of animal cruelty investigations at the Humane Society of Huron Valley and a Detroit firefighter.
Matt Schaecher
Schaecher said they were able to dislodge the food, and then the victim's color started returning and he was trying to breathe.
Huron Valley Ambulance paramedics arrived a few minutes later and intubated the victim, Schaecher said. The man had a heartbeat, he said. The HVA team transported him to the University of Michigan Hospital. Ann Arbor firefighters also assisted at the scene.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said the man was in serious condition when he arrived at the U-M Hospital Emergency Room. No further condition updates were available.
June said the man was at the restaurant with his daughter, who said he was born in 1926.
June said much credit is due to Schaecher and the other patron who first began assisting the victim. All he knows about that customer is that his name is George and he's from St. Johns, Mich. "George was outstanding. He wouldn't quit," June said.
Anna Whitney, who watched the incident unfold said the two deserve credit for possibly saving the man's life.
"I know he would never had a chance if not for the two strangers who stepped up and came to his rescue," she said.
Lisa Carolin is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. To reach the news desk, email news@annarbor.com or call 734-623-2530.
Comments
nobody
Mon, Sep 24, 2012 : 11 a.m.
Matt, you're the greatest. The same goes for the unnamed patron. This story should remind us all about Citizenship; its up each of us to step up when needed.
Foodie01
Mon, Sep 24, 2012 : 12:48 a.m.
Re: the caption -- customer's? Really?
Matt Damon
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 10:51 p.m.
I'm sure most mean well by their posts, but please take a proper course if you are interested in life saving techniques. Glad to hear this one ended well.
EyeHeartA2
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 10:19 p.m.
Very "Field of Dreams"-esque. Chew those hot dogs.
huh7891
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 9:02 p.m.
Outstanding!
observer
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 4:37 p.m.
way to swing into action.....nice job....
Pete
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 4:32 p.m.
It's easy to break ribs in a younger person doing the Heimlich Maneuver. You have to really crunch hard, with a fist buried in the sternum.This man was 86. If you can get the obstruction out some other way, it is best to try that first. In fact, many authorities see the Heimlich as a last resort (assuming no doctor or paramedic with equipment is present) and recommend trying back-slaps (as was done here) first - as many as 5 to 20 of them. I turned my young daughter's chest over my knees and back slapped a few times when she inhaled a root-beer barrel candy and quit breathing. It shot out like a cork from a pop-gun. (This would have been very close to the time (1974) when Henry Heimlich first described his famous maneuver, so I fortunately had never heard of it. Slapping her back just seemed like the right thing to do. I had no training in emergency procedures at the time.) Faced with a situation as described, I think I would have put the man face down over either a chair or someone on their hands and knees, and slapped. No disrespect to the samaritans; what they did seems to have worked.
roseart
Wed, Sep 26, 2012 : 11:53 a.m.
clara here is misinformed as well. 'Except for the red cross, all other nationally recognized training organizations, like the American Heart Association, recommend that abdominal thrusts be performed on a responsive choking victim.' is NOT TRUE. Red Cross or any other nationally recognized organization does NOT tell you do so. You NEVER perform heimlich maneuver on an unconscious victim. Period. 'Back slaps are not recommended except for infants where the head can be lower than the body so the object can be expelled rather than moved further down into the airway. ' is not entirely correct. When an infant is conscious but is not able to cry, cough or speak only then you hold the infant at an angle where the head is below the chest and you give 5 back slaps followed by 5 chest compressions using two to three fingers or two knuckles. You DO NOT bury your fist in the chest of the infant. You DO NOT do this procedure when the infant is unconscious. In unconscious choking infant you perform modified CPR. Choking is a breathing emergency and you need to provide care based on victim's age, physical condition, and modify it accordingly. I recommend everyone to take CPR and FIrst Aid training classes and keep your training up-to-date. You never know when and where an emergency will occur. Please do not blindly follow instructions given in articles, books or anywhere on the internet or what you heard from someone or what you did several years ago. You need to follow current procedure and have a trained instructor supervise you while you practice. That is only possible when you take a hands on training class. It is worth spending the money. You can get training from several nationally recognized organizations like American Red Cross, American Heart Association, National Safety Council, American Safety and Health Institute, and Emergency Care and Safety Institute. They are all very good. I have received training from both AHA and ARC and I know what I am talking about.
clara
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 4:50 p.m.
You are misinformed. The Heimlich, also known as abdominal thrusts, are given to a responsive person in the abdomen, just above the navel, well below the rib cage. Except for the red cross, all other nationally recognized training organizations, like the American Heart Association, recommend that abdominal thrusts be performed on a responsive choking victim. Back slaps are not recommended except for infants where the head can be lower than the body so the object can be expelled rather than moved further down into the airway. For a very pregnant or obese person, you can do chest thrusts. Please take an American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR-AED class or similar program to learn the correct and current methods! As described in other comments, when the victim becomes unresponsive, CPR is done with a slight modification, looking in the mouth for the blockage, after compressions and before giving 2 breaths. If the object is seen, remove it.
Dog Lover
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 2:52 p.m.
Yet another important service offered by the Humane Society of Huron Valley:-)
Heather
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
Just as a side note, the policy on the Heimlich maneuver... once a person becomes unconscious you stop the Heimlich and begin CPR... So they were correct in doing what they did. Also, the Heimlich doesn't always work like it does on TV.
MaryKat
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 1:32 p.m.
My sister began to choke while in a restaurant and her life was saved by another patron who administered the Heimlich Maneuver. It is relatively easy to do if the choking person hasn't already dropped to the floor, but can still stand. I am sure instructions are available on line.
sellers
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 1:41 p.m.
Good point MaryKat, by the time the HSHV investigator arrived it sounds like the elderly man was slumped over and thus options became limited.
OLDTIMER3
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 12:51 p.m.
Must be no one there new the hymlic maneuver. God speed the mans recovery. And prayers to him and the people who helped the man.
music to my ear
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 8:06 p.m.
I like the way old timer3 spelled it hymlic (PRAYER HYMM-LIC) SOUNDS LIKE A CONJUCTION WORD WITH A LIYYLE PRAYER I MEAN( LITTLE) thank God all is good.
Tony
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 2:55 p.m.
They used the Heimlich, but he was obese so it was difficult to get the thrusts to the diaphragm. His teeth were clenched so it was not possible to clean out his mouth. His fist was also clenched, another sign of a possible seizure.
Richard Carter
Sun, Sep 23, 2012 : 2:43 p.m.
(I say this only for people who want to look it up, I'm not trying to be a spelling nazi)... it's the "heimlich maneuver."
DBH
Sat, Sep 22, 2012 : 11:41 p.m.
Congratulations and great thanks to these two Good Samaritans and a speedy recovery to the afflicted gentleman!
DBH
Sat, Sep 22, 2012 : 11:42 p.m.
And, of course, to the HVA paramedics as well.