Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Last night, I had dinner with a good friend and colleague at a favorite local spot. As we were enjoying the first bites of our entrees, suddenly - in mid-conversation - I looked up to see him frozen. He was actually choking, but not visibly. Not turning purple, or even moving. Just frozen.

With the restaurant all but empty, and the waitstaff swiftly attending to their back-of-the-house closing duties, I leaped out of my chair and, by instinct (and some smidgen of a memory of how to really do it), performed the Heimlich maneuver. It took about four good thrusts, but it did the trick.

After knowing he could breathe again and was completely in the clear, I sat back down..oddly enough, with little thought to what had just really happened. Until, with a profound sense of gratitude (and shock) he said, "You just saved my life. I would have died tonight if I was (dining) alone."

There have been several times, at different intervals in my life, when someone has saved mine. Thankfully, never literally. But metaphorically. That, I imagine, is something I share with many. And often, it's not always as obvious as one might think.

Examples? A mentor/colleague who instantly adopts you and is, in the end, responsible for your next big career move. A dear friend who - as no one else would - tells you the truth about something you should know and do something about, for your own well-being. Or, perhaps, someone whom you'd never met, but whose story inspired you to accomplish something in your life that you never, ever imagined that you could.

[insert your own examples here]

And while the lyrics to the song by (Sir) Elton John don't exactly encapsulate the message here, this one has always been a favorite.

Comments

[Frank Gruber]

This story gave me chills. I had a similar situation where I was the choker a few years ago while dining with my whole family in well known Chicago steakhouse. It was the scariest thing I have ever had happen to me. I almost died. My step-father saved my life with the Heimlich maneuver. I am glad you were able to do the same.