Retired East Bay Firefighter Saves His Elderly Mother's Life

A retired Livermore-Pleasanton firefighter is urging the public to learn the Heimlich maneuver after he recently saved his own mother from choking to death.

Danville resident Tony Zwetsloot says he was not even supposed to be visiting his 77-year-old mother in Napa Valley when she choked and nearly died during a family dinner in April.

"Dad was at the table, mom sits down, takes one bite and her eyes got very big," Zwetsloot recalled. "She got up and went to the sink. I asked her if she was choking and realized she had a full airway obstruction."

Worried about her frailty, Zwetsloot said he rushed to the kitchen and quickly started with back blows but changed to full abdominal thrusts when she started changing color.

"The third thrust cleared the obstruction," Zwetsloot told Patch.

Zwetsloot, who is retired after serving the East Bay community for more than 17 years as a firefighter, wants the public to learn CPR and first aide.

"You may have to do it for your family one day," Zwetsloot said. "Mom called me the next day to thank me for saving her life."

Choking, which blocks the airway, hindering a person's ability to breathe, can lead to brain death within 10 minutes, and is one of the leading causes of death, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

In April, an 11-year-old girl in Providence, R.I. died after reportedly choking on a marshmallow at a birthday party. Azriel Estabrooks was at a friend's house when she choked, passed out and hit her head.

How to perform the Heimlich maneuver on YouTube:

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