In the Talmud Yerushalmi it says, "...whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world" --Sanhedrin 4:8 (37a). So apparently I am the newest superhero and have saved the whole world.
My mom and I decided to have waffles for lunch, and while I was searching for the syrup, my mother started to choke on a piece of waffle. And I mean *really* choke. Not one of these "put your hands in the air and you'll stop coughing" deals. Even before I asked "are you choking," I knew she couldn't answer me with more than a nod of the head. Talk about terrifying. Superhero Elana didn't even have time to put on her bright red superhero cape before flying in to do the Heimlich maneuver. Looking back I have no idea if my hand positioning was correct, but I learned how to do this most recently in the infant/child CPR course I took with my husband this past December, so I knew what I was doing. Honestly, the only thing going through my head was "when this doesn't work, I'll call 911." (And you thought I was an optimist!) :-) Well, apparently I have really amazing Heimlich skills, because it worked. My mom coughed up the offending food and started breathing normally. WHEW! Not a skill I ever thought I'd really need in real life, and not one I ever want to have to use again, but thank G-d for knowing how to do it.
The moral of this story is: Take a First Aid/CPR course for infants, children and adults. You never know when you might have to know something important.
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Wow - thank God your mom is ok, and you were there on time and you knew what to do!
ReplyDeleteHope all's well with the babies! I saw your blog post title and freaked a little bit :-)
wow! thank goodness you were there to help!!!
ReplyDeleteWhew! Thank goodness you were there and knew what to do. It's nice to know something you learned was useful even if it is something you never want to use.
ReplyDeleteYay for you!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope it didn't hurt your incision!
Well that is awesome that you ket calm!
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow Elana, We are both saviors of the world.
ReplyDeleteand instead of me posting my story here - I'll now have to post the story on my own blog, but good job, really, I usually panicky under pressure but sometimes I believe that God picks his hero’s depending on the situation.
You are a Hero.
GOOD FOR YOU! YOU SUPERHERO, INDEED!!
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for Elana!!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I take CPR, I wonder if I could really do it in a real situation. Your mother is so lucky to have such a smart and prepared daughter!