Visiting pastor halts sermon to save woman choking on peppermint

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Pastor Brandon Steward poses with the woman whom he said starting choking during his sermon. (Credit: Brandon Stewart)

COTTONWOOD, Ala. - A pastor, visiting an Alabama church, said he went from preacher to lifesaver when he stopped his sermon to help a woman who seemed to be choking.

Brandon Stewart, 41, said last Friday he was the guest pastor at Mt. Zion Church in Cottonwood, Alabama. Stewart said he runs New Hope Fellowship Full Gospel Ministries out of Taylorsville, Georgia.

"I was in the middle of my sermon getting ready to close during the revival they have been having all month when Mrs. Lois Adams stood up choking on a peppermint," he told FOX Television Stations.

"I immediately stopped preaching and performed the Heimlich [maneuver] on her," he continued.

Stewart said he's a former police officer and those skills came into play when he responded to the choking woman. However, he believes a higher power was also in play.

"Jesus not only allowed me to be in the right place at the right time, but he instantly healed her," he added.

Steward said Adams was not injured and paramedics didn't need to be call.

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What is the Heimlich maneuver?

The Heimlich maneuver, also known as an abdominal thrust, is a first-aid procedure in which a person must apply pressure between someone else's navel and rib cage in order to dislodge an obstruction in the victim's windpipe, according to the National Library of Medicine.

People can perform the Heimlich on themselves or others in the event of choking.

What to do when someone starts choking

What do I do if I am choking?

Do not panic or hesitate to ask for help
Call emergency services or 911 immediately
It is not recommended that another person drive you to the emergency room, but instead perform first aid as soon as possible

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CCTV footage captured the moment a basketball coach in Nebraska saved a high school freshman from choking in a school cafeteria. Credit: Papillion-La Vista South High School via Storyful

How to help a conscious person choking:

Give the person five blows to the back with the palm of your hand and hit the space between their shoulder blades
Take your fist and place it above the person's navel and use your other to cover your fist
Use your fists and push five times upward
Follow these two steps until the foreign object comes out

How to help an unconscious person choking:

You or another person will need to breathe air into the unconscious choker's mouth
Pump the person's chest 30 times by placing both of your hands on the center of the person's chest
Use your hands and try to go into the person's mouth and retrieve the object they are choking on

Once these steps are done and if the person is not breathing or remains unconscious, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) will need to be performed.

How to perform CPR: