Life Saved #3543

On February 10^th, 2025, a 15-month-old boy with Down Syndrome choked on an apple sticker. Standard choking rescue protocol was followed, but failed. LifeVac removed the obstruction on its first use! The child’s mother described the incident as follows:

“We are so thankful for this safety device! Here is the full incident in detail:

We had just finished supper; my husband, our 3 sons, and Great Grandma. Our youngest son was sitting with my husband having a bottle of milk in the chair. He finished and was antsy to get on the move. My husband set him down and within a matter of seconds, everything changed.  There was an apple sticker on the floor that no one knew about, except for our son who will find anything and put it in his mouth as quickly as he can. Thankfully, GG saw it right away and tried to swipe it out of his mouth. She wasn’t able to get it, so my husband tried. By the time he tried, it was already down. He coughed/gagged but nothing came out and he continued to cough/gag, not catching a good breath. My husband started back pats and told me to go get the LifeVac out of the van. I ran and grabbed it.

 

 **Unfortunately, it had never been opened. We bought them in 2023 when some friends and my sister had talked about them, and I saw a few ads on Facebook. Once we received them, I put them in their designated spots and didn’t even take the time to read up on how to use it; you don’t think that you’ll ever need to, until you do.** So, in the midst of my son choking and my husband doing the back blows, I was opening the travel kit, unwrapping the masks, putting it together, and TRYING to read the directions on how to use it. I was looking at it, but nothing was registering. At this point, his lips were turning blue, but he was still coughing/gagging, still breathing. I gave the instructions to my husband and called 911. As I was on the phone with 911, my husband stopped the back blows, sat our son up, then used the LifeVac in the way that he thought he was supposed to and it was instant relief in a matter of seconds; our son looking up at all of us with a smile on his face wondering why we all looked so worried.

 

When my husband used the LifeVac, he pushed the accordion in quickly, making a POOF sound, then let go of it, that’s when he had the relief; then my husband dropped the LifeVac to the floor to check on him. My husband looked at the mouthpiece and didn’t find the sticker in it, so in our mind, the sticker went IN, not out. The ambulance and EMS team quickly arrived and he was doing great. He took a ride in the ambulance to the hospital to be evaluated just for safety measures. On our way to the hospital, my husband called his brother to make him aware of the situation. In speaking with his brother, his brother told him that there is no way that the sticker went IN. It’s a one-way valve, no air pushes in, it only sucks the object out. My husband was adamant that wasn’t the case Once we got to the hospital, they took a chest x-ray, everything looked good. We were released 2 hours later.

 

Once we got back into the van, we grabbed the LifeVac and placed it in our hand, pretending to use it. His brother was in fact correct, there was no way that the sticker could have been pushed in further. But where was the sticker? We were heading back to GGs to get the other two boys. As we were leaving her house, GG found the sticker lying on the floor in front of the chair where the incident took place. 🙏 We were relieved. When my husband pushed the LifeVac in and let go (not pulling it like you should but just releasing his grip), it must have been just enough air/pressure to suck that little sticker out.

 

We now have learned how to use it properly and I’ve shared with many friends and family to get one if they don’t have one already! I suggested putting it in their vehicles, at home, at grandparents’ houses, etc. If we hadn’t had one in our vehicle, I’m not sure what the outcome would have been. We have watched the training video, and our local police department even purchased 6 LifeVac’s!

 

 I am CPR certified, as well as my husband, but I feel like instructors should learn how to use a device like this and have it taught in their classes along with the CPR procedures. Officers, dispatchers, EMS, fire fighters should know about this device (that way, in the instance that the person using the device is unsure how to use it, they could walk them through it over the phone) and this should be required along with their CPR certification.

 

It’s just another tool that can save lives and it should be known! Again, thank you so much for creating a simple and effective device for all ages!”

 

Brittany L