| I Almost Died |
And that is no joke. Living alone has it's pluses and minuses. One in the minus category, if there is ever a medical emergency there is no one around to help you. Well that is what happened today.
I was dinning on steak among other things long about 9:30 Friday night. I cut a rather big piece and apparently did not chew it like I should have. When I swallowed it I knew I was in big trouble. It was not going down. I took a little sip and hopped that would help but no way did that help.
About now I realized what a predicament I was in. Here I was about to choke to death. How on earth was I to perform the Heimlich on myself??? I got up and dashed to the bathroom. I was not having any luck. The next thing that flashed through my head was to run to the neighbors but A) who knows if she was home, B) I did not have pants on and how on earth would that look frantically pounding away on her door? Would you answer the door? C) How on earth would I get across what was happening?
Sure I could call 911 but that would take a while for them to get someone on the way and, even though the fire department is fairly close who knows if it would be soon enough. So I went back in the bathroom and started to do what I could to try and dislodge the steak.
No gross details or anything but I did manage to get it loose and now all I have is a semi raw throat.
I AM SO LUCKY TO BE ALIVE!
Well now you know my excitement for Friday night. I sure hope you had a better Friday then me.
Update: Per a comment from Strumpet I did a little search and found this article on performing Heimlich on yourself. Very good to know in case of emergency. Thank you Strumpet.
I was dinning on steak among other things long about 9:30 Friday night. I cut a rather big piece and apparently did not chew it like I should have. When I swallowed it I knew I was in big trouble. It was not going down. I took a little sip and hopped that would help but no way did that help.
About now I realized what a predicament I was in. Here I was about to choke to death. How on earth was I to perform the Heimlich on myself??? I got up and dashed to the bathroom. I was not having any luck. The next thing that flashed through my head was to run to the neighbors but A) who knows if she was home, B) I did not have pants on and how on earth would that look frantically pounding away on her door? Would you answer the door? C) How on earth would I get across what was happening?
Sure I could call 911 but that would take a while for them to get someone on the way and, even though the fire department is fairly close who knows if it would be soon enough. So I went back in the bathroom and started to do what I could to try and dislodge the steak.
No gross details or anything but I did manage to get it loose and now all I have is a semi raw throat.
I AM SO LUCKY TO BE ALIVE!
Well now you know my excitement for Friday night. I sure hope you had a better Friday then me.
Update: Per a comment from Strumpet I did a little search and found this article on performing Heimlich on yourself. Very good to know in case of emergency. Thank you Strumpet.
Posted by barman at 12:01 AM::
well I for one am very glad you got it out. You need a good back up plan. Hummm let me think about it awhile then get back to you. Stay alive until then ok? And No more steak! Well unless you cut it up into smaller pieces. I know all joking aside Im glad your ok.
damn, barman, that is some scary stuff!
Seriously, gab is right, you DO need a back up plan!
I live alone also, and live in the country with no really close neighbors, now I am sitting here wondering what I would do in an emergency......
Well, I do have a loaded .38 (and that is not my bra size,) that I call my restraining order, but in a medical emergency, I don't really know what I would do either!
Glad you are ok, Bryan! Hugs!
GAB, other than one of those medical alert things I am not really sure what I would have done about yesterday. I mean I had moments before I would have passed out and then minutes and that would be all she wrote. I will have to think about this one. Oh and I love steak so I will have to be much more careful. Thank you GAB.
Little Wing, so you are packing. Wooo hooo! Seriously you just never know what might happen and you can't always rely on someone else to be there for you. Good for you. I hope you never need to use your .38. In most situations I am prepared. I carry a phone around with me everywhere if I am not feeling very good. I write notes with all the information about what is happening to me right now in case I can not give that information to someone when they get there. But with something like yesterday, I just do not know what I would do. I guess just call 911 and hope that living 3/4 of a mile from the fire station and just under two miles from the sheriffs station makes a difference. It sure was scary. Thanks for the hug.
Holy smoke Bryan. You gotta kill the cow before you eat it otherwise it will fight back, you know...
JJ, I know that now. Maybe I should just stick to beer. I do not remember you having a problem in that one video I saw of you a while back. Yep, liquid diet for me!
Barman,
You sure had an exciting Friday the 13th!
But, you beat it and I am happy, happy, happy!
Now, as for learning to practice the Heimlich on yourself...they do say that you can do it with a chair. I suggest that you learn, boy.
As for learning to chew your food properly, I can think of a few activities that might sharpen up those incisors...
In all seriousness, though, Bryguy...I'm glad you're okay.
LEARN from this experience and start living life to its fullest while you're here, healthy and coherent.
I, myself, am not all that coherent...so it kind of hinders me a bit...but, boy do I try.
!!
Strumpet, it never even dawned on me at the time that it was Friday the 13th. I did not realize it until you mentioned it just now. Oh no! I am trying to learn. I do need to start living my life rather than letting it pass me by. And you do just fine. Just sometimes things are a little jumbled. Hey, that is just Strumpet speak is all.
man that is scary stuff! i'm glad you are ok!
Glad you are ok and I hope you learned a few lessons as well. I learned the chair trick years ago when I got certified in first aid. Hopefully I'll never have to try it.
Bryan,
I'm glad you're alright. Just let me say one thing. Don't DO that! Geesh.
I too live alone, but choking on steak is something I don't have to worry too much about, since I eat very little beef anymore. When I do its usually a burger at BK. Please do learn this chair technique of which they speak. I'm now going to see if I can find it online. I don't want anyone going down because something didn't go down.
You're obviously an independent kind of guy, that necessitates that you take care of yourself. So, take care.
SELF-ADMINISTERED HEIMLICH MANEUVER—If the choking victim is you and no one is around to help, or ignorant of how to help, clasp your hands, bend over slightly and pull your fist upward sharply, just beneath your ribcage. You can also use the back of a chair for the same purpose. See additional how-to instruction here at the Heimlich Institute website.
Although the Heimlich Institute website exists, it only seems to be a single homepage.
Awwww...
Barman....
I'm SO GLAD you looked into it!
I feel so much better!!
Yay!
sheesh- that is a scary story. Must have been freaky to have that sensation of helplessness and panic at the same time. Glad you made it!
yikes.. i'm very glad your ok!
Nice Corner you got here!
Whew! Thank you Strumpet! Yes, leaning over a chair and performing it on yourself is the way to go. You can still call 911...better to be a few minutes than to not come a all!! Because they will send someone out and don't ever hang up once you've called.
I am SO glad that you are ok...smaller bites next time ok?
OMG Bryan, I'm glad you managed to dislodge it. I never thought about the implications of living alone in these terms before.
You made me think how lucky I am and that you need a good woman.
Bryan I have had first aid training, and was never taught that!
I can perform Heimlich on an adult, baby, or small child but not myself??! Yikes!
Well I know how now, so that's a good thing!
Hope your poor raw throat feels better!
I also learned the self Heimlich in a CPR training class.
I'm so glad you made it. My advice to you is, always wear pants, LMAO!
Thank you Lime. It sure pointed out I had things to learn.
Tony I am looking into taking the CPR course again since it has been so long and also taking the First Aid course. You can bet I will be asking about using the chair so I am comfortable with what I need to do.
Charles I am working on that. I certainly am not ready to call it quits just yet. I do go out of my to take certain precautions but I had not even considered that one. That's it, I best become a vegetarian. Thanks for the info by the way.
Strumpet, I am not convinced I know what I am doing so I will be following up with a YMCA course as soon as they offer one.
Savant, it was scary. Reality set in that I may not live to see 51 and I was not sure what my options where. I hope not to be repeating that any time soon.
Thank you Chrissie. I just could not go. I mean I would not be posting to let everyone know I would not be around any more. That is not good.
Nice end you have there Lil,
Thank you nurse Jillie. Smaller bites, got it.
Suze I think all the good women are taken. At least most of the ones I know are. Hey there are other good things about ... oh never mind.
LittleWing, the raw throat was better after about an hour and I am feeling a little less shaky about what happened. I will get formal training on it soon just so I feel comfortable I can do it in an emergency.
Sign the only CPR training I had was at work and they did not teach that. I know YMCA offered it before so I think I will give that a try. Oh man, pants all the time. What fun is that? I bet the neighbors would appreciate it.
Thank the Lord you didnt die! I would have been upset to keep coming to your blog and not seeing any future posts.
That's a terrifying feeling.
Thank goodness you were able to dislodge it.
Good info from everyone on how to do it yourself.
tc
BARMAN!!!!
Remember this...
100 chews
100 chews
100 chews..you will eat much slower, your food will be properly masticated, we won't find you DEAD!!!!
100 chews
Same exact thing happened to me, except it was on a pickle! I was alone, my sister had just left from visiting, and I took a monstrously huge bite of a deli pickle and just swallowed it! No chewing, anything! I start choking, freaking out. I decided to run up the stairs from the basement to try and catch my sister...but i tripped on the stares and when my chest hit the stairs, I coughed out the chunk...
It's so scary....then afterwards, you feel like a complete moron. I'm glad you made it through...
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