Vance member saves life

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) --  A quick trip to a local McDonald's March 6 turned into an act of heroism for a Vance Air Force Base employee when she saved the life of an elderly woman.

"I was in a rush because I was on my lunch break and wanted to get some errands done," said Patty Tyson, the director of community services at Vance AFB. 

"I meant to use the drive-through, but for some reason I forgot that and wound up going inside the store. I just figured it was absentmindedness."

Inside, Mrs. Tyson quickly ordered and received her food. But, as she was heading out the door, a young man stopped her.

"He looked frightened, and he pointed and said, 'She needs your help. She's choking,'" Mrs. Tyson said. Next to her, an elderly woman was standing up in a frantic effort to make herself breathe.

At that moment, Mrs. Tyson said there were dozens of thoughts going through her head.

"Thoughts flooded my head and the strongest were those of fear. But then I thought of my daughter, Alix," she said. 

Mrs. Tyson's daughter had choked on a piece of meat when she was 7 years old, and Mrs. Tyson had used the Heimlich then.

"Thinking of that, I knew I could do this," she said.

Mrs. Tyson told the young man to call 911 then turned the woman around and wrapped her arms around her. She performed one compression of the Heimlich maneuver, but nothing came out.

"I yelled to the people at the register that I needed help, and then I performed two more compressions. Finally, the food came out of her mouth," Mrs. Tyson said. "The whole thing only took 30 seconds or so, but it felt like forever."

Mrs. Tyson began to talk to the woman to make sure she was OK. By this time, a crowd of about 10 or 15 people had formed, including the McDonald's staff and the elderly woman's husband. Overcome with the situation, the woman began to cry.

"It was too much for me. I made sure the manager was able to take care of her, then I went out to my car and cried also," Mrs. Tyson said. 

After calming down in the parking lot, Mrs. Tyson drove back to work without ever eating or running her errands.

"The magnitude of everything hit me all at once," she said. "She could have died! Since I never intended to go inside that day, I feel like God put me there. It was overwhelming."

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