Prospect Heights Boy Scout saves woman with Heimlich maneuver

It was the kind of Mother's Day gift that leaves mom needing to brag on her son.

Chase Dziagwa, 17, of Prospect Heights took his mom Mary to the brunch buffet at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Arlington Heights for breakfast.

Mary noticed that the woman at the next table seemed to need help and moved to assist her. Chase didn't pay much attention, figuring she was going to get more food and had stopped to help someone read a menu or some such thing.

Mary saw the woman couldn't breathe, was turning red and getting frantic. She tried performing the Heimlich maneuver from her years ago training, but it didn't work.

"I really thought she was going to die," Mary said. "It was a very frightening thing to happen."

She turned, and trying to quickly convey the urgency of the situation to her son, she said, "Boy Scout, choking, what do we do?"

Chase got behind the woman and gave four quick thrusts. By then, the woman's dining companions had summoned the manager, Stacey Diduca. "A little bone came up, and she was fine," Diduca said.

The woman thanked Mary and Chase. "I said thank you for not dying," said Chase, who has completed his Eagle Scout project, a conversation area at Walnut Woods in Prospect Heights.

"That was the best Mother's Day gift I ever got," Mary said of her son's quick action.

For Mary, the event was the capper in what turned out to be a big weekend. The day before Chase had competed in a regional Koryo Gumdo Korean martial arts competition at Winston Campus in Palatine.

While he's active in martial arts at J.P. Wood Martial Arts School in Palatine, he'd never tried breaking boards with his hands before, but decided to give it a go. He ended up winning the power breaking competition, smashing through 12 boards at once.

Mary said she's working to get Scout recognition of Chase's lifesaving action. She gave credit to Chase's Scoutmaster. "Kevin Lee has been an amazing leader for the kids. He pours his life into it," she said.