On February 8th, 2026, a 63-year-old woman choked on a banana resulting in a partial obstruction. Protocol was followed. LifeVac successfully dislodged the obstruction on its fourth attempt. The woman's husband described the incident as follows:
My wife had a banana stuck in her throat. She had a partial blockage and was still moving air. We were at my son and daughter in law’s house. She kept trying to relax and get it to go down but that wasn’t working and she started gagging. I had my daughter in law call 911 and got the LifeVac. My wife started producing mucus and choking more and stated she was about to pass out and was tingling in her arms and hands. I laid her on the floor and the first try with LifeVac removed a large mucus plug and fluid. I cleared her airway and she said it was better but was still blocking her breathing some. The next two tries I had the mask pop off. On the 4th try I got some more mucous out, and she was able to breathe considerably better. She felt the banana move and it went down. Fire and paramedics arrived about this time and checked lung sounds and vitals. All was good, but she was panicking and having hyperventilation issues from panic, and her esophagus was apparently having some spasms. Fire left and medics stayed on scene for about 15 minutes until we were able to reassure her and get her calmed down and breathing normally. She had no more issues throughout the day or night.
Thank God for the LifeVac!! I’m totally sold on the device and how well it removes mucus and objects from the throat. We are thankful beyond belief for LifeVac and I will be promoting it to my volunteer fire department that I am a member of and expressing the importance of having them on hand in our trucks and in our own personal vehicles. The one I used was one I had put in my son and daughter in law's home for our grandkids. I had no idea I would ever need it for my wife! Thank you for making this device available! I'm sold on it! EVERY life matters!”
Stuart K.