Joann Leser was going about her day as a waiter at Crystal Cafe – her workplace of 20 years.
It had been a normal morning, by all accounts. The restaurant had welcomed a lot of guests and business had been good.
But then something happened that ensured the day would take a different turn, when one couple entered to have their breakfast…
As usual, Joann was kept busy in taking care of the restaurant’s guests. One woman in particular caught her eye, though, when she spotted her moving strangely. Joann watched as she got up from her seat and rushed to the bathroom swiftly.
The waitress’ first thought was that the woman might be ill, and Joann feared that she had a stomach bug and so could be sick – which of course could spell a nightmare for any cafe serving food.
As it turned out, however, there was something else worrying the guest. She was choking.
Joann realized instantly she had to act, and so immediately ran towards the woman. She could see that she was panicking – hardly surprising considering what was happening. Most of us will have experienced the sheer terror of being unable to breathe before, even if it’s just for a few seconds.
And so began a struggle for both the guest and Joann, who had learned the so-called Heimlich maneuver after seeing it multiple times on TV. It was hardly something she was experienced in delivering, but, given that it was an emergency, she tried it.
Joann performed two thrusts, before something came flying out of the guest’s mouth. No one had had time to call 911, but, because Joann had learned the Heimlich maneuver on television, the woman was able to walk out of the restaurant with nothing but a frightening story to tell. It could, of course, been much worse.
Now, Joann herself is urging people to learn the maneuver. She couldn’t have possibly known when her new skill would be needed, but when a potentially life-threatening accident struck, she was lucky enough to have the knowledge.
Watch the video below to see how Joann went about performing the maneuver:
It should go without saying that this skill is important for everyone to know! If you found this article helpful, SHARE it so that your friends and family on Facebook can learn more about the Heimlich maneuver too. You never know, it could save a life!
