Correction: Vegan football player saves man choking on meat!

[Guest guest]

Correction: While one day, TE Gonzalez might become vegan, he does use

fish oil, so he isn't there yet.

 

, " carmen_cebs " <carmen_cebs wrote:

>

> Chiefs TE Gonzalez saves man's life in restaurant

> By DOUG TUCKER, AP Sports Writer

> KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—A California man says Pro Bowl tight end > Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs kept him from choking to death.

> " Tony saved my life. There's no doubt, " Ken Hunter, a shipping

> company manager, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from

> Huntington Beach, Calif.

> " Tony came up behind me and gave me the Heimlich maneuver. Thank God

> he was there. "

> Gonzalez, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who has set numerous NFL

> records, was having dinner with his wife, brother and 5-week-old

> daughter at Capone's restaurant in Huntington Beach Thursday night.

> Hunter, 45, was dining with his girlfriend at the next table when

> suddenly a piece of meat stuck in his throat.

> " I tried to take a drink of water, but I couldn't swallow, " Hunter

> told The AP. " Then I couldn't breathe. That's a terrible feeling. I

> couldn't breathe. Then I guess I started to panic. "

> Gonzalez, sitting with his back to Hunter's table, looked around

> when he heard Hunter's companion yelling.

> " She was screaming, `He can't breathe, he can't breathe, " ' Gonzalez

> said by phone from California, where he lives in the offseason. " The

> whole restaurant was quiet. Nobody was doing anything. "

> Then I saw he was turning blue. Everybody in the restaurant was just

> kind of sitting there wide-eyed. "

> The 6-foot-5 Gonzalez, about a foot taller than Hunter, jumped out

> of his chair and came up behind the stricken man and began to

> perform the Heimlich maneuver.

> " After just a few seconds, the piece of meat popped out, " Hunter

> said. " I could breathe again. It's a good thing Tony is so tall

> because I had stood up— I think. "

> Diana Martin, a restaurant employee, said no one else seemed to know

> what to do.

> " He was so lucky Tony was there, " Martin said. " In a situation like

> that, every second counts. It helped a lot that Tony's a big, strong

> guy because you have to be able to apply some pretty good pressure.

> I don't think I would have been strong enough to help him. "

> Hunter went into the restroom to clean up and didn't realize he'd

> been saved by a famous athlete until he came out.

> " I'm a big NFL fan and I recognized him right away. I was still kind

> of dazed when I went over and thanked him and said, `What can I do

> for you?' I guess I said it about 1,000 times. "

> Gonzalez, who has been active in charity and community activities

> during a brilliant career with the Chiefs, said he had no intention

> of having the incident become public.

> " The next night I had a dinner for my grandmother's 90th birthday,

> and people were saying, `Why didn't you tell me about that?' I

> honestly don't want to make a big deal out of it. But of course it

> does give me a lot of satisfaction to know that I was able to help

> somebody. "

> One of the most productive receivers in pro football history,

> Gonzalez holds the NFL record for tight ends with 820 career

> receptions and 102 catches in a season. He needs only 79 more yards

> receiving to become the career leader among tight ends.

> He has never received any formal instruction in the Heimlich

> maneuver.

> " I had seen it done, so I just did it, " Gonzalez said. " When you

> find yourself in those situations where you have to take action in a

> crucial situation, you just do it. I got the same feeling I get when

> I go on a hospital visit. " '

> Hunter is a lifelong fan of the San Diego Chargers, one of Kansas

> City's key rivals in the AFC West, and plans to be at the game when

> the Chiefs visit the Chargers on Nov. 9.

> " I'm Tony's No. 1 fan now, " he said.

> And what will this longtime follower of the Chargers do if they're

> ahead by four or five points in the final minute and Gonzalez runs

> into the end zone and leaps up for what would be the game-winning

> touchdown for K.C.?

> " I'm going to be yelling for Tony to catch the ball, " Hunter

> said. " I think all my friends will understand. "

> http://sports./nfl/news?slug=ap-chiefs-gonzalez-

> rescue & prov=ap & type=lgns

>