It was meant to be a fun social gathering for nine colleagues from Progress Press Ltd on a Friday night at a bustling restaurant in Mġarr.

The atmosphere was lively, filled with laughter and banter as the friends exchanged stories and jokes over a hearty meal.

But October 4 soon took a dramatic turn, when Stephen Grech, 54, took his first bite of meat.

“I felt the meat get lodged in my throat. I stood up, but the food wouldn’t budge. My colleagues hit me on the back, but it was no use. I don’t remember anything after that,” Stephen recalls.

His colleague, Andrew Muscat, described the moment of panic that followed: “It was terrifying. We all jumped up at once, trying to help him. We could see him changing colour, he literally turned purple. Stephen stood, desperately gesturing he couldn’t breathe. We were trying everything, slapping his back, even performing abdominal thrusts, but nothing was working. Then, Stephen lost consciousness.”

In a fortunate twist of fate, a first responder who happened to be dining nearby rushed to the scene.

“He was like an angel,” said Mark Sciberras, another colleague at Progress Press Ltd. 

“At one point we were told that Stephen had no pulse, and his heart had stopped momentarily,” he explained, still visibly shaken.

“But thanks to the quick reactions of everyone there, Stephen was revived.”

The first responder – Ramon Bartolo – took charge, and soon enough, Stephen started showing signs of life. He was murmuring, and for a moment, the restaurant patrons at Ċavett Place could breathe again.

Restaurant staff, diners, off-duty police officers stepped in to help. A path was cleared around the table, and the ambulance arrived within minutes.

Stephen was taken to hospital, where he later woke up in a haze.

“I remember nothing from the moment I choked onwards. It was a complete blackout,” he said.

“The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, exhausted but alive. My wife Maria was there.”

Though his body ached – his back and ribs sore from the life-saving attempts – Stephen’s gratitude was immeasurable.

“I feel like I’ve been reborn,” he said, his voice full of emotion.

“I can’t stop thanking everyone. If it weren’t for my colleagues and all those who helped, I wouldn’t be back with my wife and family.”

I feel like I’ve been reborn

His friends have taken to affectionately calling him ‘Lazarus’, a reference to his near-death experience.

“We joke about it now, but it was a close call,” Andrew said with a smile.

“The whole episode lasted a little more than an hour.  Stephen’s alive because everyone worked together like clockwork, from the restaurant staff to the off-duty policemen and the paramedics,” continued Mark.

The incident has only strengthened the bond between the friends.

“We owe a huge thank you to everyone: those who helped Stephen, the first responder, the police, the ambulance crew, and all the others at the restaurant.  It shows the best in humanity, when in the hour of need, everybody lends a helping hand.”

Eternally grateful, Stephen, now sees life with a renewed sense of purpose, highlighting the importance of first aid and CPR training.

“You never know when it might save someone’s life,” he said. “It certainly saved mine.”

IFRC guidelines on choking

Choking occurs when the airway is partially or completely blocked by a foreign body, such as a piece of food or an object.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), choking is one of the most common life-threatening emergencies seen by first-aid providers.

The technique used to help someone who is choking depends on the person’s age, size and level of responsiveness.

•         Immediately after recognition, bystanders can carry out interventions to support the removal of foreign-body airway obstruction.

•         Back blows may be used initially on people with foreign-body airway obstruction and an ineffective cough.

•         Abdominal thrusts may be used on adults and children with a foreign-body airway obstruction and an ineffective cough where back blows are ineffective.

•         First-aid providers may consider the manual extraction of visible items in the mouth.

•         First-aid providers should not use blind finger sweeps on a person with foreign-body airway obstruction, as this may push the object further down the person’s airway.

•         First-aid providers should use standard CPR, consisting of both chest compressions and rescue breaths if possible, on an unresponsive person with a foreign-body airway obstruction.