[Flasch186]

So Sunday my dog breaks out of the house again. It's a huge PITA and I hate it because he's big and barky and he can be intimidating. It's a golden doodle but still we have a lot of kids around and while he's only about 1 year old it can be a bit frightening for others I can imagine so it ticks me off when my kids let the dog out. When he does he's off like a shot.

Usually, because its a thing I laid the law down with my wife before getting a dog, I don't go after him and stand back and watch her try to go get him but on this day I went instead. I jumped in her car, rolled the windows down, and drove up the street.

Usually the dog just runs, each time he's gone farther and farther. But for some reason this time he stopped in my friend Andy's side yard about 10 houses down and ust barked at his garage where he and his friends and family usually hang out in the morning drinking coffee. They're palestinian. I don't know if that has anything to do with their affinity to sit outside but they do and I kind of like it in that they're really nice. Kinda have become family since we all moved in the neighborhood around the same time, spitting out kids.

So I yell at jack (the dog) and my son is now there and we're wrangling him and we eventually get him in the car with me. I begin to make the U turn in front of Andy's and I notice that, in their garage, there's someone in a chair with their back to me and Andy and his wife and Susie are yelling at the guy in the chair. Then Andy is smacking him too. That's weird.

So then I realize there's some sort of emergency. So I park and run over there. As I come around the guy in the chair I notice it's my other neighbor Junior.

"Is he choking?!" I yell/ask. They answer that he was complaining about his chest and arm but now he's choking on something. I don't know what happened but I just clicked over.

I snatched up Jr. who weighs around 240 (but felt like 350) and started doing the best Heimlich I could but he was tilting over forward. Andy was trying to keep him upright but he's also around 6'3 or 4". He began to vomit a little but it was as he was turning horizontal with my arms under him like a fulcrum on a seesaw as I ended up straddling his hips and legs.

Up we go again as I yank him up and start Heimlich him again and this time I just don't think I'm going to be able to do it. I'm not going to be able to save this guy. Junior is going to die on my watch. I'm trying so hard but it's just not working. I'm going to have to dig in his mouth in a second. Finally, on a last heave-ho, he vomits some more and down he goes on to the garage floor with his face facing me to the side. I notice him spit a little more and take a deep breath.

I can't tell you what that moment is like. I'm tearing up right now just typing about it. Every time I try to recount the story I can't help but get emotional. At the hospital later I really broke down crying. It's hard to explain why because I don't cry often but I am an emotional guy. I just thought I lost him while I was doing the work.

Anyways, the paramedics showed up about 5 minutes later and he was in and out of consciousness. They got an IV in and they honestly, 2 days later don't know what happened. Apparently, he hadn't choked on eating anything because they weren't eating anything. Just drinking coffee. They're not sure if he had a heart attack because his heart isn't showing any damage on tests. He's never had a seizure before. So they're running the gambit of tests.

One of his family members at the hospital cracked a joke that the Jew saved the Palestinian. At least it was a little levity but I gotta tell ya. Thinking that you lost someone you're trying to save and then watching them take that big breath is incredible. Scary. Literal highs and lows and I cannot imagine what those professionally trained that see this kind of thing on a regular basis must have to go through to get to the point where they're able to detach.

This is going to affect me for the rest of my life for sure.