Woman saves own life by performing Heimlich maneuver on herself

Lisa Bennett, 60, nearly died over a piece of chicken. She was halfway through lunch, alone in her home, when the meat lodged firmly in her throat. A blanket-making business owner by trade, she quickly found herself gasping and panicking. Retching and leaning forward did nothing. The chicken stayed put.

"I could make no noise and get no air," she recalls. "I was terrified." Dizziness set in. She knew she had seconds before hitting the floor. Her mind raced to her three grown sons and eight grandchildren, fearing she would never see them again. Striking her own back failed to dislodge the obstruction.

Then, a desperate idea struck. As a former nurse, Lisa had observed the Heimlich manoeuvre, now called abdominal thrusts, many times. "I knew this was my last hope," she says. "I was alone. No one could save me. I had to try doing it on myself."

With her remaining strength, she jammed her abdomen against the edge of a breakfast bar stool. The first two attempts failed. On the third, the food shot out. She inhaled a deep, grateful lungful of air. "Doing that saved my life," Lisa Bennett, from Pennsylvania, states plainly.

The stakes are high. The Office for National Statistics reports that 200 to 300 people die annually in the UK from choking. This happens when an object blocks the windpipe, cutting off air supply. It can be fatal within minutes. Children and the elderly face the highest risk, but anyone is vulnerable.

Professor Andrew Hartle, chief medical officer at St John Ambulance and a consultant anaesthetist at St Mary's Hospital in London, notes that a third of people have choked to the point of panic. He warns that people can choke on anything, even their own saliva. Research by the first-aid charity identifies meat, sweets, nuts, pizza, and fruit as the top culprits.

Young children put small toys in their mouths out of curiosity. Older adults lose muscle tone in the mouth and throat and produce less saliva, increasing the chance of food lodging. Despite this, many do not recognize choking as a medical emergency. Hartle points out that less than half of people in the country know the correct first aid: firm back blows and abdominal thrusts.

Lisa left nursing 30 years ago. That training saved her. The incident happened in August. She admits she was bolting down her food. "I always eat fast," she says. "I'm always on the go, planning the next thing, so I'll admit I wasn't taking my time."

Her husband Jim was out. It was just the two of them at home. She sat down to a chicken pasta dish. A few mouthfuls in, she realized something was stuck. "There was no air movement in or out," she remembers.

Lisa was preparing for a family gathering. Her adult children and grandchildren were arriving the next week for her mother’s 90th birthday. Then a dark thought hit her. "My son will be coming to attend my funeral," she realized.

She tried to cough. It did not work. Panic set in. She attempted abdominal thrusts on herself. "I had seen the manoeuvre done many times but always on other people," she admits.

Staggering through her kitchen, she grabbed a tall, metal bar stool. She slammed her abdomen against the hard edge of the backrest. Nothing happened. She hadn't hit it hard enough. "I knew it was now or never," she says.

She rotated the sharp edge of the support toward her body. Then she drove herself into it with such force that it hurt. One hit. Two hits. Still unable to breathe.

On the third attempt, she threw her entire weight against the metal. She thought she would die. The food flew out. Lisa started crying in shock at how close she had come to death.

Professor Hartle offers clear advice for anyone choking alone. Call 999 immediately. If you cannot speak, make sounds or tap your phone keypad so operators know you are there. "The operator should be able to locate you and send help," he adds.

If coughing fails, perform self-thrusts. Place a clenched fist between your belly button and the bottom of your chest. Grasp that fist with your other hand. Pull sharply inwards and upwards.

Lisa’s abdomen was covered in bruises from the violence of her struggle. "It hurt for a few days and turned blue but I didn't care," she says. "I was alive!"

She now understands the danger of eating too fast. "I could have died that day," she reflects. When Jim came home, she told him what had happened. He gasped and stared. Then he hugged her. They both said, "Thank God."

Lisa chews her food slowly now. She knows how easy it is to choke.