How is the Heimlich maneuver performed? Mansfield officer hailed as a hero for saving woman who was choking on a gum on highway

Chad Stevens, a Mansfield police officer, is being hailed as a hero after saving the life of a choking woman by performing the Heimlich maneuver. While driving down a Fort Worth interstate on January 13, Stevens encountered a distressed woman choking on gum. The woman and Stevens pulled over to the side, and the officer immediately administered the Heimlich, which made the woman spit out the object.

The Heimlich maneuver is a popular first aid technique administered to people who are choking. It is done by clasping your hands around the person who is choking and thrusting inwards and upwards five times. The process is to be repeated until the object causing the blockage of the throat is dislodged.

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How to perform the Heimlich maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver is one of the most well-known first aid measures. It is administered to a person who is choking due to their throat or windpipe being blocked by a foreign object. The method is also called abdominal thrusts. According to the Cleveland Clinic, choking occurs when a person is unable to breathe, speak, or cough.

The Cleveland Clinic detailed five steps in which the Heimlich maneuver has to be performed. They are:

1. Stand behind the person in distress and clasp your hands around their abdomen.
2. Make sure that one hand makes a fist, and the other hand clasps the fist tightly.
3. The thumb side of the fist has to be positioned below the ribcage and 2 inches above the belly button.
4. Thrust your hands quickly and sharply, inward and upward, five times.
5. Repeat the process until the foreign object is dislodged or the person in distress goes unconscious. In that case, administer CPR.

The maneuver can be performed on kids below five provided that the intensity of the thrusts is lowered and the person administering the procedure kneels down to the child's level. However, it should not be performed on babies. If a baby is choking, perform backslaps instead of the Heimlich maneuver.

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"I'm glad that I was at the right place at the right time": Officer Chad Stevens

On Saturday, January 13, when Officer Chad Stevens was driving through Interstate 20 in Fort Worth, he encountered a distressed woman driver choking and struggling to breathe. According to Fox 4, the woman, identified as Samantha, was chewing gum but accidentally got it stuck in her throat when she was startled by a driver who cut her off on the interstate.

Officer Stevens, who noticed the woman and got a closer look, told Fox 4:

"The flashers were on, she was swerving back and forth, speeding up and slowing down. So I could tell they were in some type of distress."

Bodycam footage showed Samantha pulling up on the side of the interstate and Stevens pulling up behind her with his emergency lights on. The officer immediately asked the woman if she was choking, and she nodded.

Stevens immediately asked her to turn around and administered the Heimlich maneuver with the foreign object successfully dislodging on the fourth thrust.

Stevens made sure that Samantha, who was breathing heavily, sat down next to the highway divider wall before rushing to all for further assistance. Samantha sincerely thanked Stevens and told him:

"I saw you coming on, I was trying to wave you down. I had my hazards on for like 15 minutes just trying to breathe through the gum."

She declined further treatment and proceeded to drive home. Stevens told Fox 4 in a later interview:

"I'm glad that I was at the right place at the right time. Like I said, that's what we're here to do."

Stevens also told the outlet that the whole encounter and procedure only lasted around seven minutes.