In a world where the news anchor starts of the broadcast with “Good evening” and then proceeds to explain all the reasons it is not, it is refreshing to see a Samaritan take the spotlight. Coach Lee Belknap saved a man’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver when the man began to choke.
Coach Belknap and his wife were at the Italian Oven a few days before Christmas when he noticed the man in front of him. Belknap said, “He turned around and looked at me, his face in panic, and I knew he was choking. He turned around, and I immediately administered the Heimlich.”
Belknap said that the only thing that crossed his mind as he saw the man struggling to breathe was to get his hands in the right position to give the man the Heimlich. Belknap said, “It was probably only seconds, but it felt like it was minutes.”
The first time that Coach Belknap was certified to perform the Heimlich and CPR was during his student teaching in 1998. Since then, Belknap said, “I’ve gotten certified through the school system, and probably around 2000 I actually became a certified instructor when I was teaching health education.” He never expected to have to use the Heimlich on anyone besides on the dummies in training.
In regards to the media attention, he said that they are highlighting a “Good Samaritan act” to offset all the sad news that had occurred during the holidays. “They were really just trying to find something good that happened in the local community,” Belknap said.
When asked what he thinks of being called a hero, he said, “By no means does it deserve hero status. I think anybody else would have done the exact same thing.” Since the event, many local news networks have emphasized his act, and he doesn’t like all the attention he has received. “I’m a humble guy, a quiet guy; I want to stay away from that. It’s been a good thing; if nothing else, it’s probably brought awareness to first aid and CPR. It’s something that everybody ought to know,” Belknap said
Coach Belknap is a McIntosh teacher who the community recognizes as not only a good samaritan but a commendable football coach.
