Neither had used the Heimlich training they’d learned in school
Nichole Covert and Betsy Dudley became friends while working on the same surgical ward at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and it was not uncommon for them to take their dinner break together. But last June, as they were eating, Betsy began choking on a piece of chicken.
Without hesitation, Nichole did the Heimlich maneuver. The RN had never used it, except in classroom training, and says she was surprised that the obstruction cleared with just one thrust, and Betsy was breathing again.
Betsy says she was more worried about Nichole, eight months pregnant, endangering the baby by doing the maneuver. Nichole says she never even thought about it, and worries instead what would have happened if Betsy had been eating alone.
As we taped the story, Nichole brought her healthy baby, Sarah, to visit the nurses, and the baby also came to the Red Cross breakfast as Nichole was honored as the Red Cross Medical Real Hero.
