A Brigham Young University football player who was awake and nursing a concussion at 2:30 a.m. Monday just happened to read a parenting article.
Minutes later it helped him save his son's life.BYU offensive tackle Matt Meservey, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound senior, suffered his second concussion in three weeks Saturday during BYU's 34-17 loss to arch-rival Utah.
Doctors told Meservey the injury ended his college career. He spent Sunday sleeping and nauseated, and that night, a throbbing headache kept him awake.
Rather than go back to bed after a bout of nausea, he sat down with the December issue of Parent's Magazine and read an article titled "Protect Your Baby From Choking."
Back in bed 10 minutes later, Meservey heard noises from his 16-month-old son Jake's room. "It sounded like the crib was banging against the wall," he said.
Meservey got out of bed and went to Jake's room - something he previously had left to his wife, Keri.
He found Jake thrashing and kicking, his skin bluish-gray and his eyes wide open. A wheezing sound came from his mouth.
"I remembered reading in the magazine about the baby Heimlich so I rushed over and pressed on his stomach and ribs," Meservey said. "There was very little air in his lungs. I reached in his mouth to feel if there was something there. When I pushed his chest, I could feel the tip of something in the back of his throat."
Meservey pushed hard on Jake's chest while pinning the obstruction with his little finger against the child's throat.
Each time he pushed, the obstruction in Jake's throat moved a little. Meservey then grasped enough of what turned out to be a golf ball-sized piece of cotton and pulled it from his mouth.
It appeared Jake had choked on a piece of stuffing pulled out of the stuffed gorilla he calls "Friend."
Meservey listened to Jake cry, picked him up, and watched his face, hands and feet turn pink. Once Jake stopped crying, Meservey took him to bed, where he slept the rest of the night between his parents.
The next day, the Meserveys saw that Jake's cheek was bruised from where his father had pressed against his face, and his feet and head were bruised from where he had banged against the crib.
"It made me realize there is nothing more important than life; not football, not anything," Meservey said.
"I also believe something good may have come out of the loss to Utah. This concussion, my being awake and sick, may have saved Jake's life."