A&P Pizza cashier saves patron from choking

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clinton Atkins
  • 66 ABW Public Affairs
Hanscom AFB --  An A&P Pizza cashier saved two lives in less than two months. 

After rescuing her 2-year-old daughter from choking last month, Nicole Morse, wife of Senior Airman Charles Morse, put those same skills into action again at the A&P Pizza shop, located next to the Shoppette, June 27. 

Mrs. Morse said she was washing tables when she heard a scream that someone was choking. 

"A lady had gotten out of her chair and was walking to another table and she couldn't breathe. I went up to her to see if she was OK," Mrs. Morse said. 

The customer indicated that she was not. Mrs. Morse quickly applied the Heimlich Maneuver to the choking victim while her co-worker, Cynthia Allard, dialed 9-1-1. 

"If she had not received help from someone, she probably would have choked to death," said Matthew Galster, 644th Electronic Systems Squadron, who witnessed the incident. "I would have helped her, but Nicole was right there, and took care of it in the blink of an eye." 

"I didn't even think -- I just did it," Mrs. Morse said. "It all happened so fast. I just kept hearing people yelling and no one really got up at first. Everyone just kept saying she couldn't breathe. Since I was the closest, I just tried to do whatever I could to help." 

Shortly after Mrs. Morse cleared the woman's airway, 66th Security Forces Squadron members, Hanscom Fire Department and emergency medical technicians arrived on the scene to assess the victim, who seemed to be OK following the incident. 

When asked how she knew what to do, she said, "I had to do it about a month ago on my 2-year-old [Annabelle], because she tried to eat a quarter and it got stuck in her throat." 

On that occasion, Mrs. Morse said she came home from work, placed her purse on the kitchen table and turned away for only a moment. Annabelle climbed up on top of the table, grabbed the purse, took out the wallet, removed a quarter and tried to swallow it. 

Mrs. Morse said Annabelle stopped breathing and her face began to turn colors.

 Mrs. Morse said her first thought was that her daughter was sick. As soon as she realized she was choking, Mrs. Morse turned Annabelle's back toward her and pushed on her stomach. Miraculously, the quarter popped out without injuring Annabelle. 

Mrs. Morse attributed her saving the woman's life in the pizza shop to the scary experience with her daughter. "I probably wouldn't even have known what to do if I didn't have a daughter who went through the same thing," she said. 

Despite all of the praise she received from co-workers and the customers of that day, she remains humble. 

"I don't feel like a hero, even though everyone keeps telling me I am," she said. "I feel I just did something anyone would have done. I just wanted to help her."