The Texas Heimlich and the Silver Creek Fire

I've spent the past 16 days fighting on the Silver Creek Fire near Kremmling, CO. It is a beautiful part of Colorado that was made even more spectacular by the aesthetics of autumn. The fire was located above 9000 feet so we were blessed with relatively cool days with very cold nights-most of the nights got down into the teens. The cooler nights had me missing my nice camping gear-as you can imagine, the Colorado Department of Corrections doesn't go to great lengths to accommodate us on gear. My sleeping bag comes up to my chest, barely. So I am left with all of my shoulders and head exposed. It's kind of like sleeping in my fly fishing waders. I loved every minute of it though-there is nothing like sleeping out under the starry canvas every night-there were even nights where I forgot that I was prisoner 179321.

This fire has been raging for a month and we spent most of our time there working alongside engine crews on structure protection. It entailed a lot of chainsaw work so those of us that are sawyers were on chainsaws for 16 hours a day-very challenging but rewarding work. Our record remains flawless-no structures have been lost under protection the entire season-something that we are all very proud of.

However, in true inmate fire team fashion, it has been our tradition to lure firefighters during the course of a fire for a variety of reasons. Earlier this season we had guys stealing and testing positive for marijuana, we had Inmate UFC that resulted in 2 guys being taken back to the facility and as it turns out, we lost an inmate on this fire as well-in the most unlikely of ways...

 Previously, I have written about how well fed we are on this fires. The Forest Service spares no expense in making sure that all the firefighters are well fed. Steaks, Ribs, Prime Rib, BBQ, Roasted Chicken, Fried Chicken, Steak and Eggs-you name it-we've had it. For us as inmates, we savor and appreciate the food so much more than the average firefighter because we are used to prison food. 

On a major but frightfully necessary side note, we recently found out that the inmates who run the dairy that provides the milk, yogurt, etc., that we eat on a daily basis, have been taking cheeseburgers out of the lunchroom and feeding them to the cows...and the cows love them! 

I don't even know how to properly process the fact that our own dairy cows are fed hamburgers. In a world where most people are concerned about too much sugar, fat, gluten, GMO's, I'm left trying to comprehend the side effects of bovine cannibalism on dairy products.

I'm just imagining a marketing tag on a milk carton that says 
*This milk comes from non-cannibalistic cows*
Needless to say, the five star catering we get on a fire is a perk of unmeasurable quality and value.

Our fire work days are long-typically 16 hours so we are hungry to say the least. We typically sit down for dinner at 8:30 pm. On this particular night, we were all looking forward to Steak Night-and we were having ribeye, my personal favorite.

Another logistical problem that we run into on fires is that we are all encouraged, rather forced, to eat as fast as we can. The tents that we eat in are limited in space, so we typically are given 10 minutes to eat-so we have to eat fast. Imagine trying to eat a 16 oz ribeye, potato, salad bar, bread and a dessert in under 10 minutes..it's a sight to behold.

There are 20 of us on the crew and the way that it typically works out is that we are dispersed between three different tables. We all sat down to begin the 10 minutes food sprint and just as I was sitting down, I realized I had forgotten my salad back at the salad bar. I jumped up to go grab it-I was of course stressed out because by the time I got back to my seat, I have 8.5 minutes left to eat my food! I went and grabbed my salad in the other tent and made my way back to the tent where all the other inmates were eating. As I walked through the door, I felt immediately that something was wrong-very wrong. 

A couple of inmates were holding onto another inmate while they were patting on his back and trying to force potato wedges and juice into his mouth. The inmate they were doing this to is our oldest firefighter-in his 50's. He's also our smallest inmate firefighter-maybe 5'5, 130lbs. He is also one of our hardest working inmates. 

I immediately ran over to see what was going on and when I go there it was clear that Moose was choking! He was able to slightly breathe but it was getting worse. I was extremely confused by the whole situation so I quickly asked what was happening. They proceeded to tell me that Moose had been eating his ribeye too fast and a piece was caught in his esophagus. He had panicked because the food was caught and he could barely breathe. One of the other inmates suggested they try the "Texas Heimlich" which consists of putting more food and drink down the victim's system, having them swallow hard and attempting to knock the obstruction loose. I cannot make this stuff up.

The guys told me that they had performed two rounds of the "Texas Heimlich" on poor Moose using potato wedges and scalding hot tea and it hadn't helped-it had actually made things worse to where now he couldn't breathe, imagine that! On a side note, I can neither confirm nor deny the actual existence of a procedure known as the Texas Heimlich, but in my career, I have spent a lot of time in Texas and I have never, ever heard of something so ridiculous nor met people dumb enough to try to execute this sequence of disturbing steps to try and HELP A CHOKING VICTIM, until now. Out of respect for my friends and employees in Texas, I will rename this maneuver the "Prison Heimlich".  

I really couldn't believe what I was hearing...so Moose was partially choking and you guys proceeded to force potato wedges and hot tea down his throat to try and dislodge the steak and now he's choking on the potato wedges and the hot tea is burning his throat? Lord, have mercy.

I immediately picked up Moose and carried him out of the tent. My adrenaline was charging through my veins so when I picked him up, it felt like picking up a small child. By now, he was really struggling for air and rightfully so. He was backed up like a clogged toilet with potato wedges and tea on top of the original, problematic, piece of steak.

I told him I was going to give him the Heimlich, the real one, I took a deep breath, placed my fists where I had been trained in CPR classes and pushed in and up as hard as I could. What followed was a series of sounds and smells that can only be recognized by parents who've had infants-throw up. and. poop.

My version of the Heimlich immediately pushed out all of the potato wedges and tea through his mouth-and all over his chest and my arms. What I didn't anticipate was the force of my maneuver to knock everything loose below his stomach-so out the poop came, I didn't really care-Moose was now at least able to breathe, kind of. 

There were still two problems, the first being that the steak was still caught in his esophagus-but he was able to talk so I knew there was nothing more I could do. The second being that now he was having trouble breathing because I had cracked or at least bruised his ribs when performing my version of the Heimlich. By then, an EMT had made his way over to help out. They determined that Moose would have to be taken to the hospital to have the piece of steak removed surgically, which he did and has since fully recovered. 

As they hauled Moose out of there in an ambulance, I couldn't help but notice that he looked like he'd gone all nine rounds of a boxing match-with inmates, scalding hot tea and potato wedges as his opponent.

By now, I only had two minutes left to eat my dinner but with all the sounds and smells that were now all over my arms and hands, I didn't have much of an appetite left. I did hurry and clean up and try to get a couple more bites of my precious ribeye. As I took that first bite I started to chew and noticed that I had a fatty piece-typical for a ribeye. But as I chewed I had a haunting feeling of what my fellow inmates might try and do to me if somehow that piece of meat didn't make it all the way down to my stomach. I weighted the risks out in my mind and just as I was about to spit it out, I couldn't help but think how terrible the food back at the prison was. There was no way I was wasting a good ribeye! I finished chewing, swallowed reluctantly and my heart smiled as that piece of meat made it all the way through the esophageal gauntlet and landed in my stomach. After all, a good piece of meat is always worth the price....no matter how high.

*This fire was officially the last fire we will be on this season-our season is over as of October 1st. So I will be spending a lot more time writing on the blog. My publisher/agent/lover Sallie, has told me that I have to send at least two posts a week, so I'll try and keep them coming.

We are still waiting to hear from the community corrections board regarding my case and when it will be up for review. Fingers crossed it's any day now and by the end of the month or so, I will be out of here and around my family again, where I should be.
Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas,. Halfway House, Centennial Community Correction Center, CCTC, Felon, 416 Fire, Silver Creek Fire, Spring Fire, Cabin Lake Fire,