The family of a 22-year-old is experiencing agonizing moments as their son fights for his life in the ICU after choking while swallowing an entire burger at a restaurant in Koropi, where he had gone with friends. The young man is battling for his life in intensive care. According to Star, the 22-year-old’s father clarified that there was no challenge involved, disputing related reports that he swallowed the burger without chewing at the restaurant.
Read: Koropi: Critical 24 hours for 22-year-old who swallowed burger without chewing
Koropi: Shocking testimonies from friends of 22-year-old who swallowed whole burger
The 22-year-old’s friends spoke to Star and described the dramatic moments that unfolded. According to what they said, their friend was at the table eating when he suddenly got up and ran outside. At first everyone thought he was joking, until they saw him hitting his back against a column trying to dislodge the food from his airways.
One member of the group, who is a lifeguard, rushed to give him first aid, however, as his friends say, no one performed the life-saving Heimlich maneuver.
“They saw him go outside at first, jumping up from his seat, they didn’t understand what he was doing, they thought he was doing it for fun and then they realized something was happening when he started banging his back against the column to try to get the piece out of his airways,” said Makis, a friend of the 22-year-old.
In another testimony, a female friend of the 22-year-old states: “They gave him first aid, because one is a lifeguard and knows about these things, they saw they couldn’t help him, so they called the ambulance.”
As another friend of the 22-year-old characteristically mentioned: “I don’t know if they lifted his chin, all I know is no one performed the maneuver that should be done to remove food. When they called, the ambulance said from the moment you gave first aid as you describe, don’t do anything further to him, CPR and related procedures.”
“It wasn’t a challenge”
According to what became known, the 22-year-old tried to swallow a large piece of food without chewing, resulting in his trachea being blocked. His father emphasized that the incident is not related to any internet challenge and is a tragic choking accident.
Doctors determined that the young man was without oxygen for over three minutes, a fact that worsened his condition.
According to POEDIN president Michalis Giannakos, the call to emergency services was made at 2:16, the ambulance arrived minutes later and made efforts to remove the food from the 22-year-old’s trachea. However, the prolonged lack of oxygen left the young man in an extremely critical condition.
The 22-year-old, who comes from Thessaloniki and was studying tourism at the University of Piraeus, had just returned from a summer season job in Kos. He had come to Athens to see his friends before returning to Thessaloniki, where his parents were waiting for him—who ultimately, after the tragic incident, rushed down to Athens. The 22-year-old’s condition remains critical, with his loved ones hoping he will manage to hold on to life.
