On June 18th, 2026 a 3 year old girl choked on an oatmeal smoothie resulting in a total obstruction. Protocol was followed. LifeVac dislodged the obstruction on its second attempt. The child's mother described the incident as follows:
“My child was drinking a thick oatmeal smoothie. She had just gotten over a respiratory infection and had some residual coughing going on. During lunch time, she was eating her normal variety of foods and while there was food in her mouth she started a little coughing fit. While swallowing, she inhaled the smoothie/oatmeal. She was panicking and bouncing up and down. My child was blue in the face and lips with no signs of breathing, no coughing. Back blows and the Heimlich did not help. I quickly grabbed our LifeVac and after 2 uses she was coughing, gagging and breathing again. It was so scary and intense and maybe lasted all of 3 minutes but not breathing for those three minutes felt like a lifetime. I kept thinking how she wouldn’t have made it by the time emergency services arrived. I’m so thankful we had the LifeVac on hand and I knew exactly where it was. I am forever grateful.”
Alli Byrd
