On May 2nd, 2026 a 5 year old girl choked on a chicken nugget resulting in a partial obstruction. Protocol was not followed. LifeVac dislodged the obstruction on its first attempt! The childs mother described the incident as follows:
“This saved my 5 year old daughter’s life when she started choking. I could see the piece lodged and knew the only way to get it out was the LifeVac which happened to be sitting next to me. I truly never thought I'd ever have to use my LifeVac but bought a set for my own peace of mind so I knew it was available to me. It just so happened that I set our "home" kit in a box by our dining table to take on vacation with us in 3 weeks! That's how much peace of mind I get from knowing my LifeVac is there.
My daughter is doing great now! She had a sore throat and was extremely scared for the remainder of the evening but was back to her normal self today. I got extra hugs and "thank yous" for simply doing what any parent would do. I am not at all comfortable performing the Heimlich maneuver and decided to bypass the step all together. When I looked into her throat, I could see the piece of beaver nugget deep enough that I'd never be able to grab and thankfully it was small enough to give her just enough air to keep her conscious for a minute while I worked. She was scared, but I bypassed her fear and pushed the valve down and pulled up quickly. I waited to see if I needed to go again but she coughed and I watched the little ball come flying out. I knew we were in the clear! The ONLY feedback I'd have, but also am aware that it's this way for sanitary reasons, was trying to get the mask bag open while shaking in panic. Though, at that point, I dug in. I'm just so thankful to have had our LifeVac and after hesitating to purchase one for so long, am even more thankful to have taken the chance.”
Kelsi D.
