Joann Leser has seen loads of people walk through the doors of the Crystal Café in Minneapolis where she’s worked for more than 20 years.
So, she knew something was wrong when she saw a sick looking customer rush to the bathroom.
It was Leser’s keen eye that helped to save to that woman’s life. That and seeing someone perform the Heimlich maneuver on TV.
It happened on a Saturday morning when the Crystal Café was buzzing with customers during breakfast.
Among those customers was a woman and her boyfriend who were enjoying a meal.
The woman lept up out of her seat and quickly walked into the bathroom. Something on her face let Leser know that something wasn’t right.
Leser thought that the woman was running to the bathroom because she was sick but it turned out to be much more serious.
“She was walking to the bathroom pretty fast and I thought she was going to get sick,” Lesser told KARE 11. “And then, she came out seconds later waving her hands.”
The woman was choking and in need of immediate medical attention. And Leser quickly jumped to help the woman.
But Leser never had any formal first aid training.
She just watched people perform the Heimlich maneuver on television and figured she would try to mimic what they were doing.
“I could see the panic in her eyes,” Leser said. “I knew she was choking. So I spun her around. It was two Heimlich maneuvers, she spit out and was gasping for air.”
The woman was very grateful for Leser’s help and went back to her meal.
“We just gave each other a hug and it was the middle of a busy rush,” she said. “She went back to her boyfriend to eat her breakfast.”
The situation happened so quick that no one even had the chance to call 911. Leser said she was shocked that she sprung into action like that.
But she’s glad that she did.
“I would expect I’d be the one picking up the phone calling 911 not jumping into action,” she said.
Leser said she hopes to officially learn first aid, including CPR and the Heimlich and hopes that others do the same.
It could save someone’s life. She also hopes to see the woman whose life she saved again.
“I’m hoping to see her in the restaurant again,” Leser said. “She comes in on weekends with her boyfriend, I guess. I don’t even know her name.”
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