A Fond du Lac County man is alive after choking on a piece of steak at an area restaurant thanks to a team of people who performed the Heimlich maneuver. Gerry and Bernice Schmitz were dining at Blanck’s Supper Club in Malone last month when a piece of steak got stuck in Gerry’s throat. The restaurant owner, and others performed the Heimlich maneuver without success. Several minutes later a Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputy arrived, performed the Heimlich, finally dislodging the piece of steak. Schmitz suffered a couple broken ribs in the process, but says the alternative was he could have “kicked the bucket.”
