Allen County Sheriff Anthony Maness found himself in the right place at the right time Friday, after he successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver on a diner choking on a piece of food at an Iola restaurant.
Maness, who was sworn in as sheriff earlier this month, was paying his bill at China Palace, 110 N. State St., Friday evening, when he heard a man ask his female acquaintance if she was OK.
“Like anybody else, when you hear somebody talk in that tone, you know something’s wrong,” Maness told the Register.
A few seconds later, the man asked a second question: “Are you choking?”
The woman who was seated at the table could not respond.
“I leaned in and saw she wasn’t talking and wasn’t breathing,” Maness said.
He had the woman stand at the table, approached her from behind and did the training he’d learned “probably when I was in the sixth grade,” Maness said.
Within a thrust or two, the food caught in the woman’s throat was dislodged, and she quickly began breathing normally.
“It was one of those instances, where it all happened very quickly,” Maness said. “It reinforced the effectiveness of the Heimlich maneuver.”
The woman, who was not identified, did not seek further medical treatment.
It was the first time in Maness’s law enforcement career — “or in my life” — that he was forced to use the Heimlich maneuver.
“Kudos to the gentleman who was with her, because the restaurant was pretty busy and noisy, but he quickly recognized something was wrong,” Maness said. “And kudos to her. She remained calm and handled it in stride. There wasn’t any kind of hysteria.
“I’m a firm believer in divine intervention,” Maness continued. “God puts us where He needs us, when He needs us. Fortunately, she recovered and we had a very nice evening.”
