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(Dalton Daily Citizen) – A Dalton mother said she is forever grateful for the man who saved her 2-year-old son’s life after the toddler began choking on a pickle while watching a basketball game in January.
Mark Richardson, an engineer with the Dalton Fire Department, was at the Sonoraville Recreation Complex watching his daughter McKinleigh, a Coahulla Creek High School student, play basketball against Sonoraville.
“We were sitting on the benches with our friends Kristina and Jess Langford and their baby Wyatt. He was eating a dill pickle and started choking,” Richardson said.
Kristina Langford said she didn’t even finish yelling Richardson’s name before he had Wyatt in his arms.
“I did about four or five back blows and dislodged the pickle,” he said.
Richardson said two big chunks came out.
“It happened really fast. You never know when something can happen,” he said. “The Lord put me there at the right time and place.”
Langford said she thought her son was swallowing the pickles he had been eating.
“I was pulling it apart, but he must have been holding them in his mouth,” she said.
Lt. Josh Townsend has worked with Richardson for 15 years and said Richardson was just doing what he’s been trained to do.
“He stepped right up and took control, performed the back blows and opened the airway just exactly how training says you need to do,” he said.
Richardson was honored on Jan. 26 at a Dalton Public Safety Commission meeting. Chief Bruce Satterfield presented him with a commendation ribbon and certificate.
Langford said the situation is even more special because of the relationship her family has with Richardson. Her late husband Andy Reed was also a Dalton firefighter. He died from brain cancer in 2009.
“Andy was a lifelong friend of mine,” Richardson said. “My mother used to babysit him when he was a little boy.”
It was Richardson who connected Langston with her current husband. They all attend Salem Baptist Church.
“I fixed Kristina and her current husband up,” Richardson said. “Jess is a real good fellow.”
