Ellen's Story

On a nice summer day, Ellen was sitting on the Allenhurst boardwalk, eating a salad while watching the waves crash onto the shore. She was thrilled to finally be able to find a few minutes in her busy schedule to relax. However, her peaceful lunch by the beach would soon flip upside down.

While eating, Ellen felt a piece of lettuce get stuck in her throat. She quickly grabbed hold of her soda, thinking that perhaps the soda will wash down the lettuce. It didn’t work, and within seconds her airway was completely blocked.

She needed help ASAP. In Ellen’s words, “it felt like there was a brick in my throat”. She began to scream for help, but quickly realized she couldn’t yell because she was choking.

Ellen then began to wave over at the other benches way down the boardwalk for help, but all they did was wave back, not understanding what was going on.

With tears in her eyes, and no alternative in sight, she ran right into the bench she had been sitting on, pressing her stomach as hard as she could against it. The powerful force upon impact immediately cleared her airway as a three-inch beet came flying out. 

Baruch Hashem, Ellen literally saved her own life, with the Blink training she received just one summer earlier.