Leonardo ’Leo’ Vallejo-Bryant, former manager at the Breeze Ocean Kitchen, receives a Lifesaving Award from the Red Cross for dislodging food from a choking diner’s throat while on duty. Julie Unwin, the Red Cross South Florida Region’s chief operating officer, presents the certificate. Photo provided
By Jan Engoren
It was a typical Saturday afternoon at the Breeze Ocean Kitchen in the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa when, without warning, a man began choking on his food, causing a hush to fall over the room.
General manager Leonardo “Leo” Vallejo-Bryant, 43, of Hypoluxo, was overseeing operations when one of his team members signaled to him from across the restaurant.
Expecting a customer complaint or a problem, he suddenly saw a life-or-death situation and a woman attempting the Heimlich maneuver and performing abdominal thrusts on her husband.
Noticing that she was struggling, Vallejo-Bryant sprang into action and took over the lifesaving technique.
“I was in shock watching his lips turn purple,” Vallejo-Bryant recalled. He instructed his assistant manager to call 911 while continuing the thrusts and incorporating back blows.
After roughly a dozen attempts by the manager, a piece of hot dog dislodged from the man’s throat.
“I felt so grateful once he began breathing,” Vallejo-Bryant said. “I could see his wife’s relief.”
Despite feeling shaken, he returned to work — thankful the outcome was positive.
Vallejo-Bryant, a 2010 graduate of Florida Atlantic University, credits his training and experience for his quick response. With 20 years in the food and beverage industry, he’s taken numerous CPR and lifesaving courses through his workplaces.
The knowledge stayed with him as he used these skills for the first time.
Vallejo-Bryant, now a client adviser at Braman BMW MINI in West Palm Beach, is passionate about taking emergency training seriously.
“Be prepared to act,” he said. “People freeze in a high-pressure situation — but take action and just do it.”
As a team leader and a father of two, Vallejo-Bryant was used to being in a position of responsibility. His motto, “Sometimes you just gotta clean up, even when it’s not your mess,” encapsulates the mindset that drove him to intervene without missing a beat.
In May, Vallejo-Bryant was honored by the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross with its Lifesaving Award.
The award recognizes ordinary individuals who step up in extraordinary moments.
“Learning lifesaving skills doesn’t just prepare you for the unexpected,” said Traci Mitchell, executive director of the American Red Cross South Florida Region, “it gives you the power to become someone’s hero.”
The Red Cross refers to the technique originally known as the Heimlich maneuver as abdominal thrusts — first aid for when a person can’t breathe due to an obstruction in the throat or windpipe.
The Red Cross offers in-person and online training in basic life support; adult, child and baby first aid/CPR/AED; babysitting and child care; swimming and water safety, and workplace safety, among others.
The training in abdominal thrusts is given as part of the CPR and AED training.
Dariana Molina, the American Red Cross regional communications manager for South Florida, said: “Emergencies don’t wait for anyone. That’s why it’s critical for folks to be equipped with lifesaving skills, so that you feel empowered to act at a moment’s notice, like Leo, and potentially save someone’s life.”
Molina was impressed that Vallejo-Bryant acted in a cool, calm and collected manner, stepping up and using the lifesaving skills he learned in his training classes. And she wasn’t the only one.
“That’s my dad,” said his 6-year-old son and biggest fan, Lincoln, who attended the ceremony. “He’s a hero."
Jan Engoren writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to jengoren@hotmail.com.
Lifesaving resources
American Red Cross material includes:
Website: redcross.org/southflorida
Training information is at redcross.org/take-a-class
A first aid app, provided by the American Red Cross, can be downloaded for free for guidance on what to do in common emergencies.
Awards that allow you to nominate a hero in your community, or a group of individuals who used Red Cross skills or training to save or sustain a life, are at LifesavingAwards.org.
Comments