So this afternoon went sideways fast. Was just chilling with coffee when my neighbor banged on the door screaming. Saw her hubby Joe slumped in their yard, collar of his work shirt twisted super tight around his neck like some cable got caught. Freaked me right out. His eyes looked scary – bright red with these weird little purple spots all over the whites. Skin was that awful blue-grey color too. Didn’t even think, just ran.
The first messy seconds
My hands were shaking bad but remembered step one: get that dang thing off his neck. His fingers were kinda clawing at it but weak. Fumbled with the twisted fabric, felt like forever fighting that knot. Finally got it loose enough to yank over his head. Dropped it in the grass.
Joe still wasn’t breathing right. Gasping, more like wheezing. Tipped his head back real careful, tilted his chin up. Checked his mouth – no gunk blocking it. Tried to get him flat on his back near the porch step, but he was fighting it, panicky.
Staying with him till help came
Knew not to move him too much. Knelt there rubbing his shoulder while yelling at my neighbor to call 911 again. She was hysterical. Told her plain: “Now, Mandy. Dial NOW.”
While waiting:
- Kept my hand light on his chest, felt the shaky breaths.
- Wiped sweat off his forehead with my sleeve.
- Talked nonsense like “You’re okay, Joe, ambulance coming.”
- Noticed his eyes – still bloodshot but the purple dots hadn’t spread.
Sirens finally screamed up the street. Felt dizzy realizing I’d been holding my own breath.
Why I even knew this stuff
Got a dark reason for practicing this. Twelve years back, cousin Robbie didn’t make it. Bar fight where some jerk choked him hard against the pool table. By the time someone got the drunk idiot off him, Robbie’s eyes… looked all wrong. Nobody did the right things fast enough. Still think about his face at the funeral.
Found a free training course at the fire station last year. Stuck pictures of bloodshot eyes on my fridge notes to remember.
Don’t care if it’s rare. Seeing Joe today – purely because Mandy screamed at the right moment – makes you realize seconds count. Won’t ever unsee how his eyes looked when that cloth cut off his air. Practice matters. Do the basic stuff even if your hands tremble.