Chambless family thankful for Rainey’s lifesaving action

WINFIELD —  Isaac Chambless and his mother, Denise, are both thankful after Victoria June Rainey, who also goes by Tori, saved Isaac’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
“It was a normal day at lunch. I wasn’t really thinking much of it, but I was eating a chicken sandwich, and my friends were making some jokes, and I was laughing about it,” Isaac recounted.
“I was trying to chew my food fast because I didn’t want to choke, but it happened. I have acid reflux, so I thought it might have been that, but then I realized, wait a minute, something ain’t right! I ain’t breathing!
“So I tapped on my chest like, ‘Hey, guys, I’m not joking! I’m kind of dying over here!’
“Then June kind of picked me up from my seat and just did the Heimlich, and that’s how it went down.”
Isaac said he was thankful she knew what to do and took the situation seriously, describing Rainey as “an awesome person.”
“I’m just thankful that she was able to do it!” Denise said. “(Isaac) said the rest of (his friends) were just sort of sitting there and thought he was just joking, since Isaac’s a big cutup anyway. A lot of them probably thought he wasn’t being serious.
“But I think more kids need to learn how to do (the Heimlich maneuver), because you never know. Things can happen real fast. I’m just glad she knew how to do it.
“I’m glad he’s ok and everything worked out! He and June are both about to perform in “Miracle on 34th Street,” and I think it’s awesome they get to do stuff like that together.”
Rainey and Chambless both performed in Freedom Theatre’s presentation of “Miracle on 34th Street” on December 11-14 last week.