POPLARVILLE, Miss. (WHLT) – A workforce project manager at Pearl River Community College (PRCC) is being called a hero after he performed the Heimlich Maneuver on a fellow worker.
The worker, Doug Touchstone, was eating his lunch in the Woodall Center on April 12 when he began chocking.
“I was eating a turkey sandwich, in a hurry,” said the 48-year-old Touchstone. “I took a large bite and started choking. I was holding my chest and trying to breathe.”
According to PRCC officials, Touchstone was walking down the hallway and decided to enter the auditorium, thinking the downward slope toward the stage might help. Michael Yarbrough was in the auditorium checking some equipment when he saw Touchstone struggling and motioning for help.
“I saw him come in the door and he was sort of panicking, but I wasn’t sure what was going on,” said Yarbrough. “When he spotted me, he turned around like he knew what I needed to do. I put my arms around him, put my fists in his stomach and then squeezed and backed up at the same time.”
On the third time, the food dislodged in his throat popped out on the floor. The incident was captured on surveillance video.
Yarbrough credits his recent attendance monitoring a first-aid CPR class PRCC conducted for a local company as a key for knowing how to respond.
“In the moment, you don’t really think of the consequences,” said Yarbrough. “I am just thankful I was there. I hate to think what would have happened if I had not been there.”