Rosie O'Donnell Recounts Harrowing Experience Helping Save Choking 90-Year-Old Woman In Restaurant

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell, who now resides in Ireland, has long described herself as a hyper-vigilante person and one well aware of her surroundings, and that trait really came in handy while she was dining at the Dylan Hotel in Dublin.

In an almost-ten-minute TikTok video, O'Donnell recounted the harrowing event of saving an elderly woman's life.

"I'm a hypervigilant person. They say kids who come from trauma-based backgrounds sometimes develop a hypervigilance. And I definitely have that."

"I see a 90-year-old woman chocking... and I jump into action like I'm an EMT, which I'm not."

O'Donnell pointed out what was happening to her friend Kiki, and brought her along to assist. She coached Kiki on the proper hand placement and thrusts before comforting the woman, whose name was Angela.

O'Donnell reflected:

"We stood her up, and I'm holding her hands and talking to her and saying, 'It's okay. It's okay. Can you breathe?'"

"And I put my hand near her, and she could not breathe at all. And she started getting red in the face."

"I yelled, 'Call 911!' while forgetting it's 999 in Dublin. I'm thinking, 'Nobody else is coming to help. Nobody from the hotel or the restaurant.'"

Angela was fine later and was able to return to her table and finish eating her meal with her daughters. O'Donnell remained conflicted about what had happened.

"Sometimes God puts you in the right place at the right time, and you figure out what to do or what to say."

"I don't get it. I really don't. Life is so strange sometimes, isn't it? What you're handed and what you deal with."

You can watch the video here:

Viewers were grateful for how O'Donnell stepped in and helped.

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

Others were grateful for the additional information she provided in her video.

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

@rosie/TikTok

The comedian was clearly shaken up from the event while recounting what happened. She reminded viewers that the international signal for choking is to place one hand at your throat.

If Angela had done that, more people may have come to her aid sooner. Lucky for her, O'Donnell was there and paying attention to her surroundings, which allowed her to catch and assist with the problem before anything worse could happen.