A Scots dad choked to death while having dinner as his wife desperately tried to save his life.
Paul McMillan, 41, began struggling when a piece of steak became lodged in his throat while at his Falkirk home.
His wife Jennifer frantically tried the Heimlich manoeuvre on him while waiting for the emergency services, Edinburgh Live reports.
Paramedics arrived and continued to work on Paul for a further 90 minutes while Jennifer's 10-year-old daughter played upstairs.
However, the dad suffered a heart attack and was sadly pronounced dead.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Jennifer said: “It was such a shock.
"One minute we were sitting eating and the next thing he began choking.
“I tried to help him, even attempting the Heimlich manoeuvre but Paul was a big guy and I couldn’t manage. I was battering his back, he dropped down to the floor and he couldn’t breathe.
"It all happened so quick and I still can't believe he has gone."
She added: “The paramedics were wonderful, working on him for 90 minutes but they couldn’t do anything.
“I’ve since been told that if a doctor had been sitting next to him even they wouldn’t have been able to save him.”
The couple got married at Gretna Green back in 2018 and lived in Falkirk with Jennifer’s ten-year-old daughter Lucy, who she said he thought of as his own.
Jennifer said: “He was devoted to Lucy. Sadly, she was upstairs when it happened and heard everything. She was the one who let the paramedics into the house.
“Lucy is devastated. She couldn’t have had a better dad, he took her on. He was really made for her from the first time they met. Now I have to be strong for her.”
The devastated widow continued: “Only a few days before we had been out for a meal to celebrate my 40th birthday.
“He was the sort of person that would help anyone. I had been through breast cancer last year and had got the all clear in October.
"Paul was a gentle giant and the sort of person who would help anyone. He was full of fun but if you needed it, he would give you the shirt off his back.
"So many people have been in touch since he died and all saying such nice things about him – people he worked with when he was just 18 and one woman who said they had gone out together at high school.
"We are all so shocked that one minute he was here and next he had gone."
Paul was also a big football fan and spent years as secretary for Port Glasgow Old Boys Union team, who have set up a Just Giving appeal for the family. You can donate to the appeal here.
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