JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – On Monday, while putting on a forum for tax policy, Rep. Rory Ellinger, D- St. Louis, began to choke after taking a sip of water.
“I couldn’t get any air,” Ellinger said.
Still waiting for the crowd to come in around 4:45 p.m., Ellinger began to choke. Luckily Rep. Keith English, D-Florissant, acted quickly. He slapped Ellinger’s back twice to try to dislodge the liquid. With Ellinger still struggling to breath and clutching his neck, English performed the Heimlich maneuver twice but Ellinger continued to choke. English yelled for someone to call 9-1-1 before he tried the Heimlich again. The fourth time was the charm as water came out of Ellinger’s lungs.
Ten minutes later Ellinger had completely recovered. A call was made to 9-1-1 but Ellinger got the message to the dispatcher that he was no longer choking.
“I really got to thank Keith for being there and stepping forward,” Ellinger said.
Ellinger added that English was a hero.
“Not really,” English said. “It was just training I received in Florissant, Community Emergency Response Training.”
