NORTHAMPTON — Kathy Dodgson was enjoying her breakfast at Miss Florence Diner when the trouble began.
Dodgson, a 1980 Smith alumna, was traveling from the Boston area to Rochester, N.Y., to visit her 96-year-old father, but decided to stop by the diner to have breakfast with a friend who lives in the area. However, as she was munching on her food, a piece of it lodged in her throat.
“It just felt like I wasn’t able to take a good breath,” said Dodgson.
She said her friend saw that something was wrong and called out “Help, she’s choking.”
A man in the next booth then gave Dodgson the Heimlich maneuver, and cleared her airways. A retired Cooley Dickinson physician then tended to her.
“There were those two lovely gentleman who just jumped up,” Dodgson said.
She said the physician talked to her for a while and made her happy with his good humor. First responders also showed up and after she was given the all-clear, Dodgson went on her way, even taking some of her meal with her.
This was Dodgson’s first time choking, but she did note that her husband has late-stage Parkinson’s and has trouble swallowing.
“Now I know a little bit more about what it must feel like for him,” she said.
Tara Gleason-O’Connor is the manager and officer manager at the diner.
“You don’t expect that to happen,” said Gleason-O’Connor, of the incident. “I immediately called 911.”
She said she was happy to hear that Dodgson is healthy.
For her part, Dodgson expressed a willingness to return to the diner, and an appreciation for its food.
“The people at the diner were wonderful,” Dodgson said.
She also said that the incident reminded her of her mother’s advice to chew food carefully, not talk with your mouth full and drink water in-between bites.
“It’s good advice,” she said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.