Returning the Favor: Bartender Saves A Life After the Same Was Done for Her

Lea Elliot was ringing up a customer when a choking woman tapped her on the shoulder.

Elliot was working the bar during the dinner rush around 7 p.m.on a Friday in April, but for a minute she was on the restaurant side. She figured that it was someone asking for a side of ranch. But sitting at table 14 was a woman named Bobbi, along with her husband, and she wasn’t looking good.

"She grabbed her throat, and I could tell she wasn't getting any air," Elliot says about the April 8 "moment"--the term her 13-year-old daughter Emma uses to describe the experience.

Elliot said she spun Bobbi around and gave her the Heimlich maneuver--more times than she said she should have.

"There was a nice dunk of steak in the napkin," Elliot said.

Once the steak was out of her throat, a guest offered Bobbi a glass of water and the restaurant's kitchen manager sat with her to calm her nerves. 

"I had to keep busy or I was going to be messed up," Elliot says about the minutes after the "moment.”

Although CPR classes weren't required of restaurant employees, Elliot had learned CPR while she was a student at Moraine Valley Community College. CPR classes were offered soon after to all employees.

A Chance Reconnection

During the CPR classes that the restaurant administered, a special presentation was done for Elliot. Afterwards, her parents took her and her daughter to nearby Lume's for breakfast.

"When we walked in, I saw Bobbi and her husband," said Elliot. The surprise encounter wouldn't be the last for the two.

"About a month later, Bobbi came into the restaurant and stayed for a little while," said Elliot, an employee of Friday's for 8 years.

The two got to have the in-depth conversation that didn't take place on that Friday in April. Bobbi presented Elliot with an angel eye bracelet.

"She said I was her angel that day," Elliot said with a smile. 

Help Returned

A vacation trip at 17 turned out to be a near-death experience for Elliott. Helping was so important to Elliot because, she said, "somebody actually helped to save my life. I've been in (Bobbi’s) position."

Elliot was swimming with friends, and using surfboards as rafts. The waters were still, and she didn't realize how far away from the shore she was--until she looked back. She went underwater, and held onto the surfboard.

"I got a calm over me. I was thinking, ‘if this is it’…” But it wasn't.

A group of Australians that she had met came to her rescue, amidst people laughing at her.

"My top had come up," she laughed.

A Humble Award

On Tuesday, June 28, Elliot received a plaque for a courageous act from the Orland Fire Protection District during its board meeting.

"Her actions were commendable and fortunately similar events are rare," said Lt. Mark Duke, who presented her with the plaque,

For Elliot, she was just returning the favor that was done for her years ago.

"It definitely wasn't something that came from me, but from faith. Asking God to help me help someone else," Elliot said. "I was glad to be able to help. We're connected for life.

"I wish I could help in anyway. ‘Show me,’" Elliot said she asked of God. "It came in the form of a choking woman."