B.C. Emergency Health Services presented its Good Samaritan Award to a restaurant patron who stepped in to save a woman who was choking in a Nanaimo restaurant.
According to a BCEHS press release, Delores Poirier was eating dinner at Beefeaters Restaurant, Nov. 6, 2018, when she choked on a piece of food. Her daughter-in-law attempted the Heimlich manoeuvre, but wasn’t successful. Poirier’s airway was completely obstructed and she was starting to turn blue.
Dirk Maritz was dining nearby when he heard a commotion and rushed over. He performed the Heimlich manoeuvre successfully, clearing the obstruction from Poirier’s airway as paramedics were en route.
The Good Samaritan Award is presented to individuals who have provided unselfish and humanitarian assistance during a medical emergency.
Maritz was presented with the award at a ceremony hosted at B.C. Ambulance Station on Prideaux Street on Feb. 5, when he and Poirier were reunited for the first time since the choking incident.
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