"The day I stopped my two-year-old from choking"

By Gemma Buffett, mum of five

Last updated 11 January 2021

It was a normal morning and I was at home with my five children. Suddenly, my eldest daughter, Boo, shouted upstairs that her little sister, Seven, was choking.

I rushed downstairs and when I got halfway down, I saw Seven and could see that she wasn’t breathing. Her eyes were out like dinner plates, her chest wasn’t moving and she wasn’t making any noise at all.

Back blows for choking

I remembered a British Red Cross first aid video I’d seen on Facebook, showing what to do if a little one is choking.

It just sort of kicked in. I leaned Seven over my arm and started hitting her on the back, between her shoulder blades.

My heart was in my mouth, but I was trying to keep calm because the other four children were watching. Boo was crying because I think she thought I was hurting her sister.

After a few back blows, Seven still wasn’t breathing and had started to turn blue. I phoned 999. I continued to give Seven back blows while speaking to the operator.

The 999 operator told me that I was doing exactly the right thing and to continue with what I was doing. After a few more back blows, Seven coughed up a plastic toy brick and started breathing again.

THE RED CROSS FIRST AID VIDEO GAVE ME CONFIDENCE TO HELP SAVE MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE.

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics checked Seven over and said they wanted to take her to hospital for a full check up by the doctors.

Once they’d examined her in A&E, they said she was absolutely fine and a very lucky little girl. The doctor told me that if I hadn’t acted so quickly and if I hadn’t known what to do, I wouldn’t have been taking her home that day.

That’s when it hit me. If I hadn’t watched that video, my daughter would have died.

It’s silly, I’ve always seen those videos come up and thought, ‘I’m not watching them, because if I know what to do, I’m tempting fate’. How silly is that?

Seven had a sore throat for a few days but was soon back to her old self.

I’m always telling her not to put things in her mouth, so I think she was a little bit sheepish because she expected to get in trouble for it. But I was just so thankful that she was alive. All she wanted to eat that day was ‘pink ice cream’ and she was allowed!

Boo was more upset than anyone. She and Seven share a room and I kept finding her in Seven’s bed that night. She just kept hugging and kissing her. I phoned my husband immediately afterwards and just burst into tears. I was just so relieved that Seven was OK.

• Learn how to help a child choking (over the age of one).
• Learn how to help a baby choking (under one year old).
• Learn more about how to help a baby or child in a first aid emergency.