Staffer at Marlboro assisted living facility hailed for saving resident who was choking on food – Boston News, Weather, Sports [Video]

MARLBORO, MASS. (WHDH) – A routine meal at New Horizon Assisted Living Facility almost took a scary turn.

But that’s to a quick-thinking college student who works there, a woman is still here for the holidays.

Phyliis Bagdasarian, 93, is still full of energy and laughter. And she’s forever grateful that Brian O’Leary sprang into action in her time of need.

“He’s polite, he’s kind, and that day he was my hero,” she said.

Bagdasarian sat down for a pot roast dinner last week and was eating her meal when she suddenly realized something was wrong.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I sat there feeling terrible and behind be, unbeknownst to me, was Brian,” she recalled.

O’Leary, the dining room supervisor, remembered his training and used the Heimlich maneuver.

“I noticed she was having some airway problems, so I just told her to lift her arms up,” he …