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One-Handed Heimlich

By David Layton

I have a website called “single handed living” where I talk about single-handedly dealing with a two-handed world, which I have done since a stroke 18 years ago. Recently my wife, Charlotte, and I found an alternate meaning for that phrase — single handed living.

I was watching TV in our living room while Charlotte was cooking dinner. She rushed into the living room with a terrified look on her face as she pointed to her throat.

Recognizing the motion as the symbol for choking, I immediately got up, and from behind her, I wrapped my one good arm around her midsection. I instructed her to hold tightly to my hand as I grabbed hers. She did as asked, and together we performed the Heimlich maneuver.

The first attempt didn’t work, so we repeated it. The second effort dislodged the bite of pork chop stuck in her throat. Relieved to breathe again, Charlotte gave me a hug of thanks and went back to cooking dinner.

I was glad that I had given previous thought to how to perform the maneuver with my one working arm. “Single handed living” when it really counted! Thank you, Lord.

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