A Pesah Miracle

Over Pesach, BLINK’s instructor and longtime Hatzalah member, Robby Lederman had the opportunity to respond to a Hatzalah call for an adult who was choking at his family seder. When Robby and his fellow responders arrived, however, thank G-d the object had already been dislodged.

Robby inquired as to what had transpired, and a young woman named Devin started to describe that during the meal, her uncle began to choke. Completely unable to breathe, he instantly pushed away from the table. That second, everyone noticed what was happening and began to panic. The young kids were rushed out of the room while the rest of the adults frantically tried to spring into action. Hatzalah was called while some of the adults tried to perform the Heimlich Maneuver but got nowhere as they were doing it all wrong.

Then, Devin stepped up and began to perform the Heimlich Maneuver properly. The stuck object began to budge. While she wasn’t strong enough to get the object out herself, she then guided an older relative how to properly perform the Heimlich Maneuver. He leaned the choking adult forward and began to correctly thrust up and until a huge piece of meat was expelled and the man was able to breathe again. This man’s life was saved simply due to G-d’s will and a bit of important knowledge and training on this young woman's part.

Fascinated by Devin’s story and how she kept calm when the rest of the adults had panicked, Robby inquired as to how old she was. She responded that she was still in high school—12th grade to be exact. When he slowly asked what school she was in, she said, “Wait, I recognize you—you were the one who taught me!” Devin had learned the Heimlich Maneuver in Blink’s High School training course in Magen David Yeshivah just a few months earlier—from Robby himself! Thank G-d, just 90 days later, she used that training to save her uncle’s life.

Blink’s first save was pure Hashgacha Peratit (Divine Intervention), as G-d brought together the right people at the right time to save this man’s life.