Heimlich Maneuver

In a hoarse voice, gangly 18-year-old Baishaun Jones took the microphone at Wednesday night's school board meeting, saying he just wanted to tell the story about how his basketball coach, Ivan Colon, saved his life. "I was right here," Jones said, standing in the middle of the Morrisville High School cafeteria, where school board meetings are held. "I was talking to friends and I was eating a hoagie, and I started laughing because my friend told a joke," Jones said. "Then I started choking.

The quick actions of a school principal saved the life of a 13-year-old Drexel Hill Middle School student who was choking in the school cafeteria last week. The student, Michael Ennis, ran up to the principal, Charles Granger, when he began choking on a piece of cheeseburger at lunchtime. "He was in bad shape when he came over," Granger said. "As soon as it dawned on me, I turned him around and started the Heimlich maneuver," Granger said. "It makes you feel good that you were there and could help someone," he said.

Eight years ago, Dr. John Cionci of Dresher taught Dr. Hong-Shun Hua the Heimlich maneuver. Neither doctor knew it then, but their chance meeting in China in 1980 is likely to lead to the establishment of a cancer research center in China. The meeting led to a fast friendship between the Dresher osteopathic physician and the vice director of surgery at the Mei Shan Workers' Hospital in Nanjing. Over the years, the two exchanged medical information, personal letters and Christmas cards.

After rescuing her best friend from choking, a Prospect Park School eighth grader has received not only gratitude from her pal but honors from her school. Kelly Lavin, 14, was awarded a certificate for heroism last week after performing the Heimlich maneuver on seventh grader Becky Slate, 13, in the school cafeteria the week before. "I learned [the Heimlich maneuver] in my health class last year," Kelly said. "I never thought I'd use it, but I'm glad I knew how. " On Nov. 4, Kelly and her friend were eating lunch together when a piece of a chocolate chip cookie got caught in Becky's windpipe.

In between the award for the Mastbaum student who had won a grand prize in a book-cover contest and the honors given 21 student semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, Harrington Elementary teacher Clifford Bond got special recognition from the Board of Education yesterday. A fifth-grade teacher at the West Philadelphia school, Bond is more widely known as a spokesman for the families who lost 61 homes in the MOVE confrontation two years ago. Yesterday, he was honored for using the Heimlich maneuver in April to save the life of a student who was choking on a piece of candy.

By administering the Heimlich maneuver, a quick-thinking Council Rock school bus driver recently saved the life of an 11-year-old girl who was choking on a hard mint candy. Joseph Helgenberg, 54, of Levittown, was pulling away from his last bus stop on his morning route on Sept. 26 when he heard students on his bus screaming, "Allison's choking. " He quickly pulled over on East Herring Road to tend to sixth-grader Allison Heater of Holland. "When I went back, she was beet-red," Helgenberg said this week.

The TV series "Baywatch" may have helped saved a young Southwest Philadelphian's life. But the real heroine was honored yesterday. The drama took place on Halloween while Alicia Golphin, a 12th-grader at Bok Technical High, 8th and Mifflin streets, was choking on a piece of candy while sitting in an afternoon class. In a classroom across the hall, chum Juanita Pigford, also a 12th-grader, was working on her computer when some kids from Golphin's class rushed in and shouted that Golphin needed help.

When parents hand off their children to educators every morning, they are trusting that, if an emergency arises, someone will be able to help. Soon, children attending schools in Washington Township will have even more reason to feel safe. And their parents, more peace of mind. As part of an ongoing program, the district's staff and faculty are being taught basic lifesaving procedures, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the Heimlich maneuver, which is used on choking victims.

At 11:55 a.m. March 26, it was business as usual at the Malvern Wawa. Joan Coursey, the assistant manager, was busy tending the cash register while customers browsed through the aisles. Then pleas for help pierced the calmness. "I'm choking, I'm choking," gasped store worker Ann Wallace, who had been eating chicken salad for lunch and was clutching her throat. Coursey's first-aid training reflexively kicked in and may have saved Wallace's life. "I was always taught if a person could talk, you don't use the Heimlich maneuver," said Coursey, 50, who worked in nursing services for 30 years.

This week, firefighters will rescue a car accident victim and stop a house fire while Smokey Bear and Sparky the Dog look on. The simulated events will start Fire Prevention Week at the Cherry Hill Fire Department's third annual expo, to be held at Deer Park Station 3 on Marlkress Road from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday night. Awards will be presented to two local child heroes - one who saved his grandmother by performing the Heimlich maneuver, and another who evacuated her house during a fire and alerted her mother, who was in another room.

DEAR ABBY: Our German shepherd, Leah, was playing with a hard rubber ball that was about the size of a tennis ball. Somehow, the ball slid down her throat. I tried to dislodge it by grabbing and pulling it out. When that didn't work, I tried the Heimlich maneuver. That didn't work either. By the time we got Leah to the veterinarian, she was dead. Abby, please tell your readers to never let their dog play with any object that fits into its mouth. If it fits, it can lodge in the throat.

In a much-touted chat with Oprah , Barbadian beauty Rihanna speaks at length about her 2009 assault at the hands of former bf Chris Brown . "Everything I knew switched in a night, and I couldn't control that," Rihanna says in the interview, set to air Sunday night on OWN. "It was a weird, confusing space to be in because as angry as I was - angry, hurt, and betrayed," she says. Rihanna says she was concerned Brown would be demonized rather than receive the help he needed to deal with his anger.

Looks like Jamie Moyer's Colorado adventure is coming to an end. The 49-year-old former Phillie was told by manager Jim Tracy on Wednesday that he was being designated for assignment by the Rockies, after a spring sojourn in which he made major-league history - becoming the oldest pitcher to make consecutive starts, the oldest starter to win a game, and the oldest player to knock in a run. It's kind of remarkable that the Pride of Souderton was...

Carolina tight end Jeremy Shockey came to the rescue of Panthers teammate Ben Hartsock by performing the Heimlich maneuver at the team's cafeteria at Bank of America Stadium. The incident occurred Monday afternoon after Hartsock, a fellow tight end, began choking on a piece of meat. Hartsock said he signaled for help when he couldn't breathe, and after one teammate was unable to perform the Heimlich, Shockey took over and succeeded. Hartsock joked about the incident yesterday, saying, "We had to call in the reliever and that was Jeremy Shockey.

The Cleveland Gladiators earned a matchup with the Soul in the Arena League's National Conference championship with a 73-70 win over the Georgia Force last night in Atlanta. The Gladiators will meet the Soul at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Wachovia Center. The top-seeded Soul advanced to the conference championship with a 49-48 win over the New York Dragons on Saturday. A California man said Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs kept him from choking to death.

The death of a popular caterer who apparently choked in a Center City steak house last Friday night is prompting some local restaurateurs to consider offering more first-aid training. Given the restaurant industry's high staff turnover, first-aid programs likely cover only a small percentage of the 115,000 restaurant workers in the region and the 11 million nationwide. It largely is up to a restaurateur to decide whether to hire the American Red Cross or another instructor.

After rescuing her best friend from choking, a Prospect Park School eighth grader has received not only gratitude from her pal but honors from her school. Kelly Lavin, 14, was awarded a certificate for heroism last week after performing the Heimlich maneuver on seventh grader Becky Slate, 13, in the school cafeteria the week before. "I learned [the Heimlich maneuver] in my health class last year," Kelly said. "I never thought I'd use it, but I'm glad I knew how. " On Nov. 4, Kelly and her friend were eating lunch together when a piece of a chocolate chip cookie got caught in Becky's windpipe.

Officer Samuel McClain was at his post at the Mill Creek Playground pool. Officer Ed Schikel was off duty, relaxing with a friend in Eddystone. Both cops, who work in the 19th Police District in West Philadelphia, rescued young girls from drowning in swimming pools within the last week. "If Officer McClain wouldn't have rescued me I would've just died and drowned," said Sequoia Howell, 6, of Fairmount Avenue near 46th Street. "He saved me. " Ruthann Land attributes Schikel's rescue of her 2-year-old granddaughter, Sarah, to a bona fide miracle.

Dr. Spock's advice on nutrition is worth heeding The expression "Que sera, sera" - whatever will be, will be - made for charming lyrics in Doris Day's lovely signature melody. But when it comes to cutting American children's risks of heart disease and cancer at least in half, the best philosophical advice comes in the Latin exhortation "Carpe diem" - seize the day (Inquirer, June 24). To best accomplish that, parents should follow the excellent dietary advice clearly and simply explained in the newly revised book Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care.

The TV series "Baywatch" may have helped saved a young Southwest Philadelphian's life. But the real heroine was honored yesterday. The drama took place on Halloween while Alicia Golphin, a 12th-grader at Bok Technical High, 8th and Mifflin streets, was choking on a piece of candy while sitting in an afternoon class. In a classroom across the hall, chum Juanita Pigford, also a 12th-grader, was working on her computer when some kids from Golphin's class rushed in and shouted that Golphin needed help.