Waitress Pounds on Choking Toddler's Back Until Ambulance Arrives, Saves His Life
Life-saving skills aren’t just valuable for first responders to know — everyone would do well to take time to be trained in CPR and first aid knowledge.
It can happen anywhere. Someone could start choking at a restaurant or movie theater. Do you stand by and watch, helpless to do anything?
Or do you have the know-how to jump in and save the day? According to the New York State Department of Health, “12,000 children are taken to a hospital emergency room each year for food-choking injuries.”
One family from Florida will be forever grateful to the waitress whose life-saving skills saved their choking toddler.
Carissa Green was eating at a Sonny’s BBQ restaurant in Lake City with her family when things took a turn for the worst.
Sonny’s happens to be her husband’s favorite place to eat. But when their 1-year-old son Rhythm started choking on a French fry, everyone began to panic.
“I looked at him and his face was turning purple and my immediate thought was, ‘Oh, he’s choking,'” Green told WGFL.
The frightened mother recalled what happened next, explaining that people started crowding their table, doing whatever they could to help.
“People were taking my kid from me and taking turns and no one was helping,” Carissa told the news outlet. “I’m feeling completely helpless.”
Thankfully, Shalya Sullivan happened to be working a drive-thru shift that night. The waitress heard the screaming and rushed over.
Sullivan’s manager told the family she knew how to help. “I grabbed him and I immediately put him facedown on my arm and started giving him back blows,'” Sullivan said.
And that’s what did it. The French fry finally came out and little Rhythm started sucking in breaths, much to his family’s relief.
“When he started crying, that was the best sound I’ve ever heard,” Shayla told WGFL. “I’m like, ‘I love this baby crying right now. Thank God.’”
A happy ending for everyone, including Sullivan and Green who agreed they also came out of this situation with a new friend.
Would you have been able to help in this scenario? If not, the American Red Cross offers CPR and first aid classes across the country. To find one in your area, visit their website and search in a city near you.
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