Remembering an "old biblical old cliché" led to saving one man's life.
While at a red light on his way to work in Rochester, New York, last week, former "American Ninja Warrior" contestant and exterminator Pavel Fesyuk saw a man on the road in front of him apparently struggling to breathe, hunched over and coughing.
Fesyuk immediately thought of the "old cliché" found in the Bible, specifically Luke 6:31, also known as the Golden Rule, where Jesus told His followers during the Sermon on the Mount, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Without having second thought, Fesyuk got out of his car and checked on the man, WHEC Channel 10 reported. His action was recorded in his car's dashboard camera.
He found out the man was choking. Fesyuk is used to helping people, being a professional exterminator who takes care of getting rid of troublesome rodents and insects in the homes of his clients. But that was nothing compared to what he faced at that moment—a life or death situation.
Fesyuk asked the man: "What can I do?" The man started patting Fesyuk's back to show him how the Heimlich emergency response technique is done. He then did the same thing to the man even though he only had a vague idea how it's properly done.
But there was no time to lose and he had to do something quickly to save the man's life. And he apparently did save a life that day as the man simply walked away from Fesyuk without a word said, his choking problem gone.
Recalling the incident, the young hero admitted to WHEC Channel 10 that he was not trained to do life-saving techniques since he is not an emergency worker. But he's a father who has seen how cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is done.
"I just know from seeing it enough. I am around kids all the time, and see the posters on how to do it," he said.
Fesyuk said he would tell his children to do the same thing he did when faced with a similar situation.
"I like to teach them to help others, put their needs before their own and kind of be selfless. The old cliché... do unto others," he said.
"Take the extra second. What is two seconds out of my day to help somebody and in that case it really helped him," he added.
