Firefighters at lunch save choking woman
As she was at lunch earlier this month in an Oklahoma City hospital cafeteria, Bobbie Gilbreath began to turn blue.
A kernel of corn had become lodged in her throat, said her son, Greg Gilbreath, 60, who was with his parents on June 2 at Oklahoma Heart Hospital South. After only a few seconds, Bobbie Gilbreath, 80, began slipping out of consciousness.
Only a few tables away in the cafeteria were four firefighters who saw the woman struggling.
Bobbie Gilbreath and her husband, Curtis Gilbreath, 85, both of the Bridge Creek area, had gone with their son for some heart complication testing that Curtis Gilbreath needed. They decided to have lunch there during the visit.
Bobbie Gilbreath was not breathing as fire Lt. Danny Schofield rushed to her side and began performing the Heimlich maneuver, he said, with partner Bradley Park helping him hold her.
Firefighters Kevin Wallace and Donnie Bennett also helped try to revive her as she slipped out of consciousness, said Greg Gilbreath. That’s when Park and Schofield carried Bobbie Gilbreath toward the hospital emergency room. Doctors there revived her and she recovered fully.
On Tuesday, Bobbie Gilbreath, who is also a stroke survivor, and her husband of 61 years got to meet the firefighters who helped save her. Greg Gilbreath said his mom doesn’t remember much about what happened.
“If they (firefighters) hadn’t been there we’d probably have lost her,” Greg Gilbreath said.
Schofield said Bobbie Gilbreath looked a lot better Tuesday than the day she was found choking at lunch.
“She was actually blue,” Schofield said.
The heart hospital is located near Fire Station 13, located on SE 74 in far southeast Oklahoma City. Firefighters often have lunch at the hospital cafeteria, as they were on the day Bobbie Gilbreath choked.
Life-threatening choking calls are common for firefighters, but being only a few feet away when it happens to someone is rare, Park said.
“The fact is that we were there eating,” he said. “We’re usually sent out to a call. This one we could see she was choking and needed help.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Bobbie Gilbreath presented the firefighters with a box of assorted pecan treats. Schofield thanked her for the treats, and said helping save her was just “kind of what we do.”
“We just happened to be at the right place,” Schofield said.