Choking

Brandon was about 14 months old and still learning to chew on a hard diet. This day he was having difficulty swallowing on an apple. He always managed to succeed; but this was different. He was choking. I grabbed him and put him over the sink. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t do the Hiemlick method hard enough to clear the apple out of his throat.  

A few days previously, Don had rented a video from the library for our 16 mm projector about the services of the Fire Department.  Much to our surprise, they did First Responder calls.  Don put their phone number on all the phones. When time was running out, I grabbed the phone to call them. It was only for the fact that the number was on the phone that I was able to call them.  I could never have looked up the number in the phone book in this state of panic.

I called the Fire Department, explaining the situation and I swear they were in the front door before I hung up the phone.  Fireman Tottle, [which I understood as his name Firemantottle] snatched Brandon up, now blue, over his knee, hit him on the back and stuck  his little finger in his mouth. Out popped the obstructive piece of apple.  Brandon immediately turned pink.  They took him into their fireman truck and transported him to the hospital for an Xray.  He was just fine. Every year after we would go and thank Fireman Tottle for saving my son.  One year we went and heard the sad news that he had passed away.  I had a plaque made for him, acknowledging his heroic deed, and presented it to the Fire Department. That was the end of our connection with Firemantottle.