Newly qualified first aider saves choking toddlers life
A woman from Derbyshire who had only just completed a first aid training course was able to use her new skills to save her son’s life after he started choking on some crisps.
Claire Gascoyne, a 37-year-old mum from Coal Aston in Derbyshire, knew immediately what she had to do when her terrified son Thomas, 3, started choking on Doritos crisps. She placed the toddler over her knee and delivered two blows to the back to dislodge the snack from his throat, clear the obstruction and stop Thomas from choking.
Amazingly, Claire, who has ambitions of becoming a childminder, had only just completed a two-day paediatric first aid training course the day before the frightening incident occurred. She said of the incident:
“We had covered choking the day before on the first aid course so I instantly knew what I had to do to help Thomas.
“My husband had panicked and wanted to give him a glass of water but I knew that I needed to act quickly to clear the obstruction.
“I am so glad that I had done the first aid course and that I knew what to do – without it the situation could have ended very differently.”