The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Waitress saves life
Quick thinking keeps woman from choking on sandwich
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 10, 2007
If a common tip for good wait service is 15 percent, what do you tip a waitress who just saved your life?
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Nena Hines was in the middle of her afternoon shift waiting tables at Dan's Tavern in downtown Saline March 20 and had just started her break when she heard someone say, "She's not breathing."
It caught her attention.
Only paces away down the bar, Hines saw 88-year-old Ethel Enners, a lunch regular, choking on a bite of grilled cheese sandwich. One of Enners' friends was trying to administer the Heimlich maneuver while Enners remained seated.
Hines, the mother of three who had once performed the maneuver on her 3-year-old son when he choked on a hotdog, knew it wouldn't work with Enners seated, so she got up and intervened.
"I went over there and picked her right up out of the chair," she said.
Three times Hines thrust Enners' ribcage and on the third push, she felt the piece of crust dislodge. As a bartender called 911, Hines laid Enners on the floor and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
By the time Saline Fire Chief Craig Hoeft and the paramedics walked in the tavern's back door, Enners was breathing normally and back in her chair.
The paramedics checked her over and she was fine, so no trip to the hospital was needed.
Hines, who had kept her composure and cool to that point, felt a rush of nerves when it was over.
"It was a good and bad feeling at the same time," she said. "I was so glad I didn't panic, but it was a scary feeling. I shook for quite a while."
"You could tell everybody was kind of rattled," Hoeft said. "(Hines) did exactly what she learned. It was pretty impressive."
After all the commotion had settled, Enners asked for a box to take the grilled cheese sandwich home. She hadn't had a chance to finish it.
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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