Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) came to the rescue of his fellow senator, Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), when she choked on her food during a closed-door Republican lunch on Thursday. Paul, who is an ophthalmologist by training, performed the Heimlich maneuver on Ernst, dislodging the food from her airway and potentially saving her life.
The incident occurred at the Capitol, where the senators were having a luncheon to discuss the latest legislative issues. According to a reporter who was present, Ernst suddenly started choking and turned red. Paul quickly jumped up from his seat and wrapped his arms around Ernst from behind, delivering several abdominal thrusts until she coughed up the food.
Ernst, who is a combat veteran and the first female senator from Iowa, later confirmed the reporter’s account and thanked Paul for his swift action. “It was great that Rand was there,” Lummis said.Though he said he did not see the incident, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) told The Post that Paul did a “good thing.”“God bless Rand Paul,” Graham said. “I never thought I’d say that.”
The Heimlich maneuver, also known as abdominal thrusts, is a well-known emergency response to choking that involves standing behind the person and using a series of under-the-diaphragm abdominal thrusts to force out the object causing the choking. The technique was popularized by Dr. Henry Heimlich, who died in 2016 at the age of 96.
The incident underscores the unpredictable nature of life, even within the walls of a Senate luncheon. It also highlights the importance of knowing basic life-saving techniques like the Heimlich maneuver, which can be performed by anyone in a matter of seconds.According to Injury Facts, choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury death. Of the 3,000 people who died from choking in 2020, 1,430 were older than 74.
The luncheon continued after the incident, with Ernst confirming that she was okay. The incident did not appear to have any lasting impact on the day’s agenda or discussions.
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