Boy Saves Mum From Choking On a Pork Crackle

A ten-year-old boy has saved his mother who was choking on a pork (crackle) scratching by doing the Heimlich Manoeuvre, which he learned at a school demonstration just days before.

Dom Hollinshead’s mum, Lisa, 44, was watching TV alone at her home in Billingham, Teesside in the UK, when the snack got stuck in her airway which left her gasping for air.

Just in the nick of time, Dom, who left his bedroom at 10pm to look for a hat, saw his mum in distress and immediately used the skills he learned in school from St John Ambulance and was able to dislodge the snack.

“I was in absolute sheer panic – I couldn’t make a noise or shout for help. It was a horrible, horrible feeling. I just remember getting off the sofa and going to the kitchen, and realising I couldn’t even get any air through my nose,” Ms Hollinshead said.

She added that she tried dislodging the snack by coughing, and then drinking some water but it wouldn’t budge until she couldn’t breathe. She said she never thought choking can be so traumatic until she experienced it herself.

“People tell me they have a fear of choking, and I’d never understood it until that moment. We would normally have both been in bed by then.

“But he ran down and just scooped me up and gave me four massive Heimlich manoeuvres. When it came up, I started crying and he started crying.

“I was lying on the floor laughing, crying and hugging him – I have no idea why he wanted the hat but when he came down he saved my life,” she said.

Ms Hollinshead said that she had no idea Dom knew these skills. Volunteers from St John’s Ambulance had been into the school to give a demonstration to pupils.

Thankfully, Dom remembered the lessons which he applied to save his mother’s life. He was praised by his teachers and classmates at St Paul’s Roman Catholic Primary School.

St John Ambulance say there are four steps to help someone if they stop breathing. The charity advises people to either cough, slap or squeeze out anything lodged in your throat – and if that doesn’t work, call emergency services.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk