News has emerged that a woman nearly choked to death on a fragment from a meal in an Adelaide pub, but was saved by prompt action.
Local mother Lisa Heaven was recently eating beef ribs in the Hurley Group’s Marion Hotel in Mitchell Park, in Adelaide’s south, when it is understood a morsel became lodged in her throat.
She attempted to clear it herself with a sip of wine, to no avail. Her companion tried in vain to help her by administering pats on the back.
“I thought I was going to die … I really did,” she told 7News.
Marion Hotel manager Anna Hurley observed the woman struggling to breathe, and called 000, reportedly telling emergency services her lips were going blue, indicating a significant drop in blood oxygen levels.
Paramedics arrived in minutes, and removed the obstruction using forceps. She is understood to have made a full recovery.
The suggested procedure for helping to clear the airways of someone who is choking is:
- Five (modest) blows to the back, between the shoulder blades, using the heel of one hand
- If step 1 doesn’t work, employ five chest thrusts to the lower part of the breastbone (sternum) using the heel of the hand
- If there is still a problem, call 000
