ST. LOUIS – It’s a miraculous birthday celebration Antwoinne Vinson will never forget.
Vinson, a natural gas supervisor for Ameren Illinois, and his family had just placed their drink orders at a steakhouse in St. Louis on Friday, March 14, when he noticed a woman and her husband were in distress.
“I heard the hustle and bustle and when I glanced over to their table I saw the husband giving his wife the Heimlich maneuver. My family and I watched for a second and we all said, ‘she is choking,'” Vinson says. “I asked my nephew, who was sitting next to me in the booth, to move out of the booth and then I sprinted into action.
“I went over to the table. The husband was still performing the Heimlich again, but her airwave was still blocked. I asked if I could help. She looked at me and the husband tried the Heimlich one more time and then she pointed to me. I asked if she could breathe, and she never responded. When she didn’t respond I knew she still was choking.”
Vinson says, he put his hand out to indicate that he was going to give the woman back blows. He says the woman turned and braced herself for the back blows. Vinson positioned himself according to his first aid training he learned at Ameren.
“When she leaned over, I asked if she was ready and she nodded, yes. I applied three back blows. I could tell after the second one that the food might have dislodged a little bit, but I gave her a third one just in case. The third one thankfully worked.”
After the third blow, the woman straightened up and started thanking Vinson for his heroics. Those who witnessed Vinson’s actions thanked him. The husband and wife walked over to the table were Vinson and his family were seated and thanked him repeatedly. He said he felt a sense of relief.
He said his wife and son were amazed and his nephew said, “‘Man, what can’t you do?’ Which made me feel good.”
Vinson credits his CPR and first aid training skills he has learned over his 12-year Ameren Illinois career for allowing his instincts to take over. In fact, Vinson says he did a refresher training class in the fall of 2024.
“I was aware of what to do and prepared for this type of situation,” says Vinson, who works at the Belleville Operating Center for Ameren Illinois. “I just saw a person in need and another person who was trying to administer the Heimlich maneuver that wasn’t working. It was either I am going to do something, or this isn’t going to end the way anyone wants it to end. My instinct was to get up and help if I could.”
When he and his family were finished with dinner they celebrated with dessert.
“I am always going to have dessert and the restaurant gave it to me on the house,” Vinson says. “It was chocolate cake with ice cream and Cool Whip on the top. It was a victorious dessert and a birthday celebration that I will never forget.”
