Good Samaritans tend to appear when you least expect them. At a restaurant in Wisconsin, US, a man recently saved a boy from choking. Without any formal training, he performed the Heimlich manoeuvre — a first aid procedure in which abdominal thrusts to treat upper airway obstructions by foreign objects — and removed a large piece of a chicken sandwich lodged in the boy's throat. A video of the incident was captured on a CCTV camera. It shows the boy clutching his throat as the man passes by him. Noticing the boy in trouble, the man holds him from behind, lifts him, and performs the Heimlich manoeuvre.
The boy immediately throws out a piece of chicken sandwich. But there appears to be more blockage in his throat. So, the man continues the process as two anxious women look at them. One of them is the boy's mother, who tries to ask for help but gives up on the idea on seeing the man helping the boy. Meanwhile, the other woman calls on the emergency helpline 911. Luckily, thanks to the timely intervention, the boy was saved from choking on the sandwich.
The incident happened in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, in August. The footage was released on the YouTube channel ViralHog on Tuesday. According to the caption, man's name is Joseph Reinhart - and he has been receiving a lot of praise for his quick-thinking.
“Sometimes heroes wear yellow t-shirts. He was able to dislodge two pieces of food at 0:04 and at 0:23,” commented a user on the video.
“Amazing. Someone pay that guy's bills for a while. What a great guy, that was awesome,” said another.
A third user said that it was “terrifying”.
One user praised the man for continuing with the Heimlich manoeuvre without giving up. “Never give up, be aggressive. Great job,” wrote the user.
“Omg, he is a hero,” another said.
