Bouncy ball almost kills two-year-old Shrewsbury boy
A Shrewsbury mother today issued a warning to other parents after her two-year-old son almost died choking on a bouncy ball.
Little Toby Owen, two, got the little ball lodged in his airway while playing in the family’s front room. He turned blue and started bleeding from his nose.
It is believed the blue ball had bounced into his mouth as he played with his older sister Darcey, four, and a friend at their home.
Mother Carrie, 37, found Toby clutching his throat and struggling to breathe.
Together with father Rich, the couple from Belvedere, carried out CPR and desperately tried to remove the 4cm-wide ball as Toby’s jaw clenched shut.
Paramedics arrived within seven minutes and managed to retrieve the ball with specialist equipment.
Carrie, who works for West Mercia Police, said: “It was the worst day of our lives.
“We had a day of fun planned for the Easter holidays, we were baking cakes and Toby had his friend over to play.
“I was in and out of the kitchen checking on them every two minutes but I suddenly had this feeling something was wrong – call it mother’s intuition.
“When I went back he was stood in the doorway clutching his throat and I screamed for Rich, while telling my dad to call an ambulance. We also grabbed a neighbour who works with my husband to help.
“We were trying everything, Rich even tried to scoop it out with his fingers, but Toby’s jaw had become locked and we couldn’t open his mouth.
“Blood started coming out of his nose and he went from grey to blue. I knew I just had to be there for him, holding his hand and staying calm. He was desperately gasping for air.
“The emergency service responded so quickly – I think they were there in seven minutes – but in that moment it felt like a lifetime.
“I urge other parents to check the packaging to make sure it’s in the appropriate age range and remove any small objects that could be swallowed. I wanted to share our story so no-one else has to experience this.”
Paramedics were joined by air ambulance and police officers at the home and Toby was rushed to Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital within 13 minutes.
Carrie said: “I’m quite an emotional person but at that moment it was amazing how calm I was, as I knew panicking would not achieve anything.
“I held his hand in the ambulance while he went in and out of consciousness.
“At that point, we didn’t know if it had caused any lasting damage.
“But as soon as he woke and called for ‘Mummy’, ‘Daddy’ and ‘Darcey’, we were so relieved.”
Toby was given oxygen straight away and sent for an X-ray, which showed a shadow on his lung with doctors fearing it was a build-up of fluid. After 12 hours wearing an oxygen mask, he was given a course of antibiotics and was lucky to make a full recovery from his frightening ordeal.
Carrie said: “He is pretty much back to his normal, adventurous self, but he gets tired quite easily. I think it might take us longer to recover from this than him. He is very aware of what happened and we have removed every small toy from the house.”
She took to Facebook to share the family’s ordeal and to warn others of the dangers of leaving small objects around children.
Carrie posted: “So I’ve just experienced the worst 24 hours of my life. My son Toby nearly died yesterday. They say you can’t watch them 24/7 and how true that is.
“The speedy actions of myself, Rich, Campbell and my dad making that call, and the paramedics, saved my boy’s life.”
Nurse Julie Talbot, who was working when Toby was rushed into the Princess Royal Hospital, shared a picture of the blue bouncy ball in her hand.
She wrote: “CPR was commenced or it could have been a very different story. Thank goodness it was a happy ending.”
