August 14, 2007
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Hands On Learning
Back then, the Outdoor Education Camp was an annual
highlight. Local home school families of different stripes joined
together, rented a primitive 4-H camp and focused on a period of history or a
specific topic to study. Costs were low,
friendships formed, and learning actually occurred. One year we studied the Constitution; a local
judge was a guest lecturer as well as a judge for a mock trial.I was sitting across from a dad during lunch when his eyes watered
and he started to cough.“Are you okay, Bob?” I asked. We made eye contact before he shook his head
and got up from his seat. He didn’t make
it seven steps when we realized that Something was Very Wrong.“He’s choking,” I called out and the nearest man began the
Heimlich maneuver.Instantly the dining hall was quiet, an intense quivering
quiet.Terry thrust several times, to no avail. He kept at it, but it wasn’t working.
“Lord God,” I silently prayed, “You just can’t let him die here
in front of all these children! Help us!”Another friend darted into the kitchen and called 911. Mentally I rolled my eyes: we were 18 miles
from the closest ambulance, beyond a timely response.“No, Nooo!!! Not my Daddy!” The daughter’s sobbing wail was the only
sound that broke through the strained silence.Bob’s body was slumped forward and drool dribbled out of blue
lips. He repositioned Terry’s hands
higher on his abdomen before Terry thrust once again. The piece of carrot popped out, Bob’s face
pinked up, and everyone took a collective breath.Though stunned, we paused and prayed, giving thanks for the deliverance.
Before the evening meal a paramedic gave us a talk on the Heimlich, a nice, clean, clinical echo of the real thing we had earlier witnessed. Two striking points embedded themselves on my psyche.
1. Because choking and gagging are queer, risky spasms of weirdness, our first impulse is for privacy and preservation of dignity. But in distress, isolation could become termination. Bob was headed to the bathroom. Had he made it there, he may have died. Isn’t there a life lesson here? So often we are more concerned about shielding our distress from the eyes of others than (seeking and) receiving needed assistance.
2. When you are choking, you cannot talk. Communicate your problem by pantomime, hands pointing at your throat or encircling your throat. If you see someone choking, you need to talk for them. The first question is “Can You Breathe?” They can respond nonverbally to that question.
That noon after sanity was restored, we gathered together our stunned senses. There was a moment when the drama of it all absorbed all conversation. Soon a buzz began throbbing as everyone rehearsed their perspective of the story. A lot of food was left unfinished that meal.
A local reporter had spent a few hours at the camp that day and had joined us for lunch. After the dramatic interruption, a mom turned to him, picking up the thread of conversation and said, “As you can see, home schoolers tend to emphasize hands on learning!”
Comments (7)
Interesting that you should talk ab/ this today. Yesterday we had a trainer for our sales people in for the week. He walked out past me to the patio to smoke, then knocked on the door (which I thought strange, since he had a key/badge to get in), walked past me, up the elevator and into one of the offices before asking my boss to call 911 because he thought he was having a heart attack!!! She was reminded that she should get training in the Heimlich maneuver, too. I had a bit of comedic respite when her boss came through and I told him what was going on – he thought it was a joke and it took me several tries to get him convinced otherwise! I’m pretty sure the man just had an anxiety attack, thankfully. He stayed overnight in the hospital, just to be safe.
Thank goodness for hands-on learning. I had to perform this maneuver on DD#4 when she was less than one year old!! Of course, the technique was different because she was a baby.
It was very instinctive. After I had placed her face down on my thigh and slapped her on the back a couple of times, the offending piece of food came forth. I looked up to find a whole restaurant full of eyes watching me.
And I was weak-kneed for the rest of the day.
Shudders…
Both stories are scary.
I remember that day so vividly! I’m teared up at the thought of it! I had to call home that day, to tell my boys, not at camp, to not eat carrots while I was gone.
What I saw before all the excitement, was little Ronnie in his stroller, gazing upward, smiling at the motes and dust in the air. Please know, I’m not a woo-woo sort of person (I have met Lutheran people that are, but not me), but at that moment, before all the events, I thought, “Hmm, I wonder if he sees an angel?” Where that thought came from, I’ll never know, but I do believe God sends His messengers to help His people in time of need. Terry was there with his cool head and others that were helping, but I believe God’s angel was protecting Bob.
God has a plan for Bob and he is living out that calling today! Praise God!
Weren’t camps fun!
Wow the drama of this! Praise God all was well. I agree with tanabu, God isn’t finished with Bob yet! My camp experiences were usually confined to mosquitos and smores. Though I suddenly felt swept back to one where I learned the joy of hiking. I have never lost that! blessings, m
WOW! Thank you for sharing this with us! I am so thankful that Bob is ok.. God is good!
My husband had to have the Heimlich performed on him several times (usually by me) before we figured out he had an esophogeal stricture. I will never forget those moments when you feel that you are hanging suspended between life and death. You are absolutely right that our dignity can cause us to choose privacy, and that is the last thing we need at the moment.
I appreciated the bit of humor you injected there at the end~~hands on learning, indeed!