That’s why one of the first steps in CPR is the head tilt chin lift. This technique aligns the airway and forces the tongue to move up and out of the way. If you stick anything in the mouth of someone in distress, you run the very real risk of losing it. We had a similar call but instead of using a finger, this samaritan used a blue pen. When we arrived, the pen was gone but it was very obvious that it had been blue. Why? Because when the patient bit through the pen, enough blue ink came out to smear all over the patient’s mouth. This samaritan turned a seizure patient into a choking patient. This patient thus required much more treatment than originally needed. EMT’s have specialized airway tools that are used to secure the airway and keep it open. A pen is an inadequate tool for this.