A life-threatening emergency at a Missouri barbecue restaurant turned into a powerful testament of faith when a woman’s choice to seek help from strangers proved divinely guided. The remarkable rescue was captured on security cameras, revealing not just a dramatic save but a meaningful coincidence that left many reflecting on God’s timing.
Sarah Schlereth was dining at Mann Meats in Florissant when a piece of food became lodged in her throat, completely blocking her airway. The surveillance footage shows the distressed woman leaving her table and deliberately approaching Richard and Doretta Irwin, a couple visiting from out of town who were standing in line.
“I was trying to get the food to go down, and it got stuck to where I couldn’t breathe at all,” Schlereth said. “Something just told me to go over there.”
A prepared rescuer
Richard Irwin proved to be exactly the right person for Schlereth to approach. He quickly administered the Heimlich maneuver, a technique he knew well because his own mother had previously experienced choking incidents. The life-saving procedure successfully dislodged the obstruction.
Following the emergency, Richard didn’t simply walk away. He approached the still-shaken Schlereth and offered to pray with her. Both he and his wife Doretta then covered her in prayer, providing spiritual comfort alongside the physical rescue.
A message on display
What caught the attention of many who viewed the security footage was the text printed on the back of Doretta Irwin’s shirt. According to KSDK-TV, her shirt displayed: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39.
The restaurant later commented that the couple were in the “right place at the right time,” though many saw divine orchestration in the encounter between these strangers.
Doretta Irwin told the station, “I guess it was an appropriate shirt to have on to what happened Friday,” adding that she and her husband wear these shirts when they do prison ministry. Sarah Schlereth was still in shock that day. She didn’t get a chance to thank the couple or even learn their names.
An internet reunion
In the immediate aftermath, Schlereth never got the opportunity to properly thank her rescuers or even learn who they were. However, after Mann Meats posted the surveillance video to Facebook, social media users helped connect the three individuals. Days later, they reunited at the same restaurant where the incident occurred.
Doretta Irwin gives us an important message at the end: “We can make the world a better place if we do love our neighbors as ourselves.”
