Comedian Ralphie May is a bona fide hero after saving a small child’s life Thursday morning. May, who had performed at the Spokane Comedy Club Wednesday and was on his way to Seattle for a gig Thursday night, was waiting for his flight at a food court in the Spokane airport when witnesses tell TMZ that a woman nearby began “screaming at the top of her lungs” for help. A crowd gathered and the child began turning blue after one failed attempt to hit the toddler on the back.
That’s when May, who himself is the father of two children, jumped in to save the day, performing the Heimlich and dislodging the food from the child’s windpipe. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they told the Last Comic Standing runner up that he did, in fact, save a life.
No one was more surprised about the turn of events than May himself, who tweeted the following shortly after the incident.
A child was choking on food @ the airport. No breathing, almost blue, limp. I did the Heimlich removing the blockage. It's just fucking noon
— Ralphie May (@Ralphie_May) June 30, 2016
He also tweeted his reaction to TMZ breaking the story:
Awesome to see @TMZ gets me @ my best & worst & for the onslaught of "he ate the baby" & "of course he was in the food court" jokes to come.
— Ralphie May (@Ralphie_May) June 30, 2016
Well, for what it’s worth, he’ll get no food court jokes from us, tempting though it may be! The official Twitter account for the Spokane airport also tweeted their thanks to May, no fat jokes included.
Stand-up comedian, Ralphie May, saved a choking child’s life by administering the Heimlich Maneuver in the food court at SIA.
— Spokane International Airport (GEG) (@iflyspokane) June 30, 2016