A 15-year old was choking, a 20-year-old employee helped get him breathing again
GAYLORD, MI -- Quick thinking and swift action allowed one Gaylord man to put life-saving skills to work.
He helped save a teen's life. The teen was choking on his food.
The Boettger family is calling it an act of heroism. They were celebrating at La Senorita's in Gaylord, when 15-year-old Crosby began choking on a piece of chicken.
That's when an employee came to the rescue.
Crosby Boettger is 15 years old and playing the piano is something new. In fact, last weekend, he performed his first piano recital in Gaylord. A proud moment for his mother and a reason to celebrate.
They stopped at La Senorita's to get boneless chicken wings, one of Crosby's favorite foods. They were having a great time celebrating but things would get scary.
"I didn't chew as well as I should have, and a piece of chicken lodged in my throat, and I started choking," said Crosby.
"Can you breathe, can you breathe, are you ok? And then I just panicked," explained Crosby’s mother, Ann Marie Boettger.
Ann Marie didn't know what to do, so she called for help. Adam Lynch was working at the front of the restaurant, and heard the panic. He rushed over.
"I walked over to the son and explained to the mom that I'm going to have to perform the Heimlich," said Lynch.
20-year-old Adam remembered back to his EMT training in high school. He also thought about the Heimlich maneuver instruction chart he studied time and time again when business was slow. He got behind Crosby, like this, did three pumps, and cleared the food from Crosby's throat.
"I was starting to panic, and then I heard him, and I was like, I'm going to be ok," said Crosby.
“God-given feeling almost. I'm thankful God put me in the right place, at the right time," said Lynch.
The Boettger's, seeing Adam for the first time, presented him with a purple heart to show their appreciation.
“He's our hero, with a purple heart," said Ann Marie.
“It really makes you have faith in humanity I guess. You hear all of these bad stories and then something like that happens, and you just feel warm, you feel like you have a purpose now," said Crosby.
To learn more about how to administer the Heimlich maneuver, CLICK HERE.
