Posted October 4, 2026
Tom Weller is 74, widowed, and lives alone in a quiet house outside Akron, Ohio. His daughter bought him a Mumany unit back in March and left it in a kitchen drawer. He told her it was a waste of money.
It was 7 p.m. on a Sunday. He was eating his usual dinner — leftover meatloaf, buttered peas, a glass of iced tea. Halfway through, a piece went down the wrong way. He coughed hard, twice, then nothing would move. He couldn't make a sound.
He couldn't call for help. His phone was in the living room. His neighbors were two houses away. For about forty seconds he stood over the sink, hands scrabbling at his throat, and thought about his wife.
Then he remembered the drawer.
He pulled the Mumany out, fumbled the mask over his mouth and nose, and pressed the button. One press. The piece came free. He slid down the wall onto the kitchen floor and sat there for ten minutes, breathing.
Now the unit sits on the counter, not in the drawer. He calls his daughter every Sunday.
"I told her she was overreacting," Tom said. "I was wrong. It's the best fifty-four dollars this house has ever spent."