Arrow Crown

It was a typical mealtime at an assisted living center in Cincinnati until one of the diners suddenly started choking on a piece of meat. Resident Patty Ris, 87, was struggling to breathe. Normally, a member of the staff would have come to her rescue, but 96-year-old Henry was already on the case. Dr. Henry Heimlich is credited with the invention of the maneuver that carries his name; a series of upward abdominal thrusts designed to clear airway obstructions. He’s demonstrated the technique countless times since the 1970’s. But until last month he’d never actually performed it on a choking person. "It was very gratifying," Dr. Heimlich said. "I knew about all the lives my maneuver has saved over the years but here, for the first time, was someone sitting right next to me who was about to die."