the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, January 8, 2008 6:00 pm
CRETE — Doane center Jack Lind still smiles about his side trip and his life-saving moves after the Tigers played a basketball game at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., last month.
The 6-foot-10 center was upset about a loss to Westminster College (Utah) in the Disney Challenge Holiday Tournament on Dec. 18.
“I went to eat by myself and on my way back to the room, I saw this woman frantically trying to explain something to these two young women,” the junior from Hastings said.
“I knew something was really wrong, but the woman who was so upset couldn’t speak English and neither the two women nor I could speak Spanish,” he said.
But through some hand signals, “the woman holding her hands like a cradle and showing a choking sign, I knew something was really wrong,” Lind said.
Lind raced with the woman to her room, where the woman’s husband was trying to help their 10-year-old son breathe.
“The boy was blue and not even wheezing,” Lind said. “I pushed the father away and whacked the kid in the middle of the back. Nothing changed, so I kind of squatted down, since I’m so tall, grabbed the kid from behind and put my fist in his gut, did the Heimlich maneuver, and out popped this pretty big piece of meat.
“There was this big breath and the mom and dad started crying. The mom came over and hugged me, still crying. I was a little shaken, too. But nobody said anything because nobody understood each other. Eventually, I could see the boy was breathing OK and I left.
“It’s funny, because I never got their name and I’m sure they don’t know who I am. But to hear that boy breathing again was one of the best things I’ve ever heard.”
Lind said he learned the Heimlich maneuver from his father.
“About 10 years ago, my sister, Jennifer, was choking at Thanksgiving. My dad did the Heimlich and she could breathe. He taught all of us in the family and I’ve never forgotten. I’m glad I knew it. I’m sure glad it worked. because I don’t know what the next step would have been other than to call an ambulance,” he said. “
“I’m just glad I was there and I knew what to do this time.”
— Ken Hambleton