In case of emergency

 
This memory just came to me out of nowhere: I have twice been present when my wife saved someone from choking. On both occasions, I was aware of the situation and knew what to do, but she was the one who did it. On one, the person choking was me.

Let’s deal with that one first. Back in the days when I was still with the Air National Guard, my unit had a family day, and during part of that we were eating in the chow hall together, at a table with a number of other people. I did something wrong, got a chunk of hamburger lodged in my throat, and very deliberately tapped her on the shoulder, then pointed at my throat when she looked at me. I was already thinking, Okay, if she doesn’t understand or doesn’t respond quickly enough, I can do the deal where you perform the Heimlich on yourself against the back of the chair … and while I was thinking that, she whacked me firmly in the center of the back (officially you’re not supposed to do that, but it worked instantly), and that was that.

On the second occasion, we were at the potluck following the Wednesday service at our church, and the woman seated with us started coughing uncontrollably. I was watching her, wondering if intervention was necessary — in the few seconds it lasted, I was thinking, Is it choking if air is still going in and out? — when Susan jumped up, asking if the woman needed help, and then performed a quick, formal Heimlich. (It turned out it was one of those situations where a lump of food had got caught in the woman’s throat, she coughed it out, sucked it back down when she tried to draw a breath, and then found herself stuck in the cycle.)

So, both times, I was ready to take proper action. But, both times, my wife was faster and more decisive. Not bad, not bad at all.