By Sam Lennon via SWNS
A mom says she owes her toddler’s life to an anti-choking device – that she bought after the tragic death of another young boy.
Ashley Bufton, from Ashford, Kent, was “absolutely terrified” when she saw two-year-old Bailey, who is autistic, start choking on a penny.
She grabbed a LifeVac, which has a mask and suction equipment, and used it to pull the coin out on the second attempt.
The device, which costs just under $72, has been promoted by the parents of Oliver Steeper, who died after choking at a nursery in Ashford three years ago.
It was after reading of this tragedy that Bufton purchased the device.
The 35-year-old said: “I believed it stopped my son from dying or having severe brain damage.
“I’m really grateful that it exists because I don’t think my son would be here if it didn’t.”
Bufton had been doing some cleaning at home on August 22 when to her horror she spotted that Bailey was choking.
She said: “I heard him take a really sharp intake of breath. As I turned around, he was clearly not able to breathe.
“He was panicking, his eyes were watering and I completely freaked out.
“It was absolutely terrifying. My heart stopped. I didn’t even know what was in his mouth.”
Bufton at first administered back blows, the traditional method, but that didn’t work- so she grabbed the LifeVac.
She was already on the line to emergency services, talking to them by loudspeaker so she could keep using both her hands to save her little boy.
The device pulled the penny out on the second attempt and it fell on the floor.
Bufton said: “Bailey vomited and then took a massive breath of air in.
“And then I just remember feeling relief and I picked the penny up and I was still on the phone to the operator
“It took another 13 minutes for paramedics to arrive, by which time, had I not had the LifeVac, serious damage could have been done.
“This is because no amount of me hitting him on his back or doing any of the maneuvers that would normally have worked was working because the penny had managed to lodge itself sideways.
“If I didn’t have the device I would have had to wait until those paramedics turned up and then for them to get him to the hospital to remove it. So in a time-sensitive situation, it saved his life.”
Bailey fully recovered in 30 minutes and Bufton has explained how to use the equipment to her two other children should it be needed for them.
The Oliver Steeper Foundation was set up to campaign for all pre-schools in Kent to have these anti-choking devices installed.
Oliver Steeper choked on food at the Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford on September 23, 2021.
The nine-month-old died six days later at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London.
The jury at an eight-day inquest last May returned a conclusion of misadventure.
The LifeVac is a non-invasive device which uses vacuum pressure to remove an object from a person’s windpipe.
LifeVac Europe has this year said the device has been used to save 1,651 lives, including more than 1,000 children’s lives.
Bufton added: “I’m very grateful that Oliver’s family have taken the initiative to tell his story – tell their story to save other children. And that is exactly what they’ve done in my case.”
