Saving two lives at once

Ronnie Guyer concedes that sometimes, it’s those seemingly inconsequential decisions that can lead to serendipity.

Last August, Guyer and co-workers at Assemblyman Van Tran’s office were driving down South Coast Drive to reward their interns with a farewell lunch at Karl Strauss Brewing Company; when they were almost there, however, they decided instead to head down Harbor Boulevard toward Wingnuts restaurant.

“It was totally a snap decision,” he said, shaking his head in awe. “Someone just said, ‘Let’s go to Wingnuts,’ so, that’s what we did.”

Two weeks prior to that fateful turn, Guyer experienced what he called a “premonition,” prompting him to practice the first-aid skills he learned more than 20 years ago.

“There was a news report of a man using the Heimlich maneuver on someone in a restaurant in the Valley, and I said, ‘Practice, Ronnie, practice,’ because you never know,” he said. “You might be needed for this sooner than later.”

Within moments of sitting down at Wingnuts, he saw a woman frantically gesturing at her throat, choking.

Steadying himself, Guyer practiced cupping his fist under the table, and watched as employees desperately tried to help the woman.

“My (assistant) managers tried to help her right away, but this guy seemed to have more experience, and just took over,” Wingnuts manager Marcelino Rodriguez said.

By the time Guyer approached her, the victim had passed out, awkwardly lurching on her side in a tight booth — hardly an ideal posture in which to employ the Heimlich, Guyer said.

“I had to get extremely low and start pushing up as hard as I could,” he said, comparing the strange movement to a wrestling position. “It took all my strength to apply the pressure, and she just kept rolling and rolling.”

With all of the strength he could muster, Guyer crossed his fingers and applied one final heave to the woman, expelling the food from her throat.

Guyer said he thought, “This one’s got to work, because this is getting pretty hard and I’ll have to stop for a minute.”

“Frankly, that’s a minute I didn’t think she had,” said Guyer, who has a sore shoulder but doesn’t mind it.

Sure, he’s gotten some recognition for the heroism — including a Mayor’s Award presented at a City Council meeting last week — but that’s hardly what matters, he said in his office on Wednesday. The gravity and beauty of a life dedicated to helping others, both as a politico and an advocate for the Vietnamese community, became profoundly clear for him.

“I never dreamed in my whole life that a little guy like me would be blessed with the opportunity to have the tools ready, at exactly the right moment, to be there for so many others,” he said, visibly restraining tears. “Now it’s so much deeper for me, because each person I help has a face, and it will always be her — now that’s a gift.”

The only thing missing is the woman’s name, Guyer said. He never did get to know whom he rescued, but he wishes he could tell her how the moment changed him for the better.

“I’d really like to meet her one of these days and thank her myself, because she changed — no, saved — my life,” he said. “I was the caregiver there, but I turned out to be saved.”

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.