Rescue Supports Heimlich as First Maneuver

by John Eckberg, columnist, Cincinnati Enquirer, July 18, 1993

It's a good thing that Todd Schebor and Jack Baker, who recently saved a Bond Hill girl's life at a swimming pool, aren't members of Cincinnati City Council's law and public safety committee.

That panel - after hearing evidence that indicates the Heimlich maneuver should be used on drowning victims before mouth-to-mouth resuscitation - refused last month to overturn a Dark Ages dictum from the Red Cross that rescue workers must try mouth-to-mouth first before any other treatment.

That's one council action Schebor and Baker missed. They were able to save the life of 8-year-old Natasha Stuckey anyhow.

Schebor, president of Schebor Landscaping Services, and Baker, an employee, were working at the Kugler Mill Square Apartments on Beech Street in Bond Hill at 2 p.m. on June 25 when Natasha nearly drowned.

It was a Friday, the two men were mowing the front lawn - looking forward to the weekend - when a crowd of adults and children gathered and began to scream for help at the pool.

Schebor and Baker, a Goshen resident, hurried to the water and found a lifeless Natasha. She had bluish skin and wasn't breathing.

Schebor ran to call 911.

He returned and within seconds began to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

Schebor, a Symmes Township resident, had seen a television public service announcement six months before from the Heimlich Institute about the value of the Heimlich maneuver for drowning.

"She wasn't breathing, and I knew that CPR would not get any air in her," said the 30-year-old Schebor. "My wife and I were discussing it one evening about what we would do. And after watching television, we decided that the Heimlich maneuver was the right way.

"As soon as I saw that girl (Natasha) and the stuff coming out of her nose and mouth, I said the best way to get the water out of her was the Heimlich."

He pressed against the girl's abdomen with his fist, which pushed her diaphragm upward and compressed the lungs - forcing out water. On the third try, vomit and water completely cleared from the girl's airway, and she started breathing again.

She regained consciousness immediately.

Paramedics arrived, administered oxygen and took her to the hospital. She was released the next day - fully recovered.

What a stark contrast to the attempted rescue in June, 1992, of 8-year-old Michelle Green, who drowned in Hanna Pool in Over-the Rhine.

In that case, mouth-to-mouth from lifeguards and paramedics failed to remove water from Michelle's lungs.

When a paramedic finally performed the Heimlich maneuver on Green, the airway was cleared. Water flowed from Green's lungs but it was too late.

The girl sustained brain damage and died in a coma a week later.

Natasha's salvation, in part, was that she was swimming in a private pool - as opposed to a Cincinnati public pool staffed with lifeguards who must follow Red Cross guidelines.

"(Natasha) was not treated by the 'most-skilled' Red Cross certified paramedics," noted Dr. Henry Heimlich. "One of these men had seen the maneuver on a public service spot.

"The problem has always been the delay in the useless mouth-to-mouth - water remains in the lungs," Heimlich said.

Although Cincinnati public pools follow Red Cross policies, which call for mouth-to-mouth, and then the Heimlich maneuver if mouth-to-mouth is unsuccessful, that's not the case at some private clubs.

Grover Richardson, manager of Clifton Meadows Swim Club in Clifton, said he has no doubt which technique should be used first.

"I think the Heimlich maneuver is it," Richardson said. "Of course, 911 is the first thing. You need to get (city paramedics) here. But after that, you've got to get the water out of there - out of those lungs.

"That's all there is to it," Richardson said. "You've got to get the water out."

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@1993 Cincinnati Enquirer