On December 28th, 2024, a 68-year-old woman choked on ham resulting in a partial obstruction. Protocol was followed. LifeVac was used numerous times. The woman’s husband described the incident as follows:
“My wife had a cardiac arrest in 2004 resulting in anoxic brain damage which left her both physically and cognitively disabled and in a wheelchair 99% of the time. She has had several choking incidents in the past, and we’ve had to use the LifeVac before. I believe she was #138 on LifeVac’s saved life list back in 2021. This past December she was eating dinner at home, the main protein being a spiral cut ham. Typically her food is cut into smaller, manageable pieces, but while eating she seemed to be having difficulties swallowing. Due to her disability, she is not always capable of accurately answering questions and following directions. But she did nod when asked if she was choking, so we tried giving her a sip of water and when that didn’t help, several back blows. When that also failed to clear her throat, we tried using the Heimlich, but it was difficult since she had to be held up while the Heimlich was attempted. When the Heimlich didn’t help, we pulled out the LifeVac. We tried using it while she was sitting down but it seemed we couldn’t get a good mask seal. After several tries, we laid her down on the floor so that the back of her head would be supported while we used the device. We were really out of practice using the LifeVac but it wasn’t the best time to look up instructions. After a couple of tries which extracted only saliva, another try resulted in a large piece of ham laying on the floor next to her head. Her breathing immediately returned to normal and she seemed to be fine from that point on. Thank you for your help and to everyone at LifeVac. I don’t know what we’d do without it.”
John R.
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