Last Breath
In 2014, my wife and I boarded a plane and flew to London, England, to spend a week touring the city, then climbing aboard a cruise ship for a trip to Houston, Texas. The ship was being repositioned to a warmer climate, and so the one-way trip was half price—a deal we could not refuse.
After touring the city that I had read so much about in school, we boarded the ship as it readied itself to pull in the anchor and head to France for a brief stay. After getting our luggage squared away in the ever so small room we were assigned, we changed into more appropriate attire and found our way to the ship’s dining room.
At our table, set for six people, sat our friends on the cruise (Don & Louise), and two vacant chairs. The server came and took our order, and in about twenty minutes, two ladies who were traveling together, both schoolteachers, sat down to eat with us. The youngest one, Cindy, sat beside me, just a wisp of a young woman, but talkative and very pleasant.
Our food came, and I sliced my steak quickly, and as usual, was guilty of talking as I chewed on that delicious piece of meat. Suddenly, a large piece of that meat entered my throat unchewed, and stopped midway through its journey, blocking the airway to my lungs. I tried swallowing it several times without success. With alarm plastered on my face, I nudged my wife and pointed toward my throat. She jumped up and yelled, “Tommy’s choking!” I could feel my heart pounding like a jackhammer in a rock quarry, and thoughts were racing through my mind about what I could do to make that piece of meat move.
My newfound friend, Cindy, jumped up, came around behind me and started the Heimlich maneuver. She was much smaller than me, a 200lb 5’10” man, and her effort was having little success.
As I looked around the table and the room, people were staring at me with wide eyes, as if they were witnessing someone dying. And that is exactly how I felt —that I had, maybe, 30 seconds left on this earth. I was looking death in the eye, and my only regret was that I was leaving my wife and our life together. I hoped that I had done enough in God’s eyes to get into heaven.
Just when I thought my life was over, a piece of steak popped out of my mouth and people started to clap and cheer, but I shook my head “No!” I still cannot breathe; there was more of the culprit wanting to take my life in place, refusing to budge.
But the angel God sent me, named Cindy, kept working on that maneuver, and shortly after the first piece was dislodged, the next one appeared and, just as quickly as it started, the drama was over.
I still celebrate October 25th as “Guardian Angel Day,” and she and we stay in touch even though she lives hundreds of miles away (Las Vegas). She came to visit us this past April and stayed a week. She promises to make it an annual event, and she keeps her promises ❤️. Eleven years ago, I thought my life was over, and a young lady said, “No, not on my watch!” How many of us know someone that saved a life? I do, and she’s a pretty little woman that loves to climb mountains 😊. Bruce Lee says, “”Use only that which works and take it from any place you can find it.” I took it from Cindy.
