An anti-choking device introduced to Northern Ireland following the death of Co Down woman Sherry Campbell has been used to save the life of a baby.
The LifeVac system was used on one-year-old Killian Hendricks after he choked on a piece of carrot.
A spokesman for the company said: "Killian started to turn colour due to lack of oxygen and he had already received back blows due to his age which were unsuccessful.
"So LifeVac was then used by his mother Morgan with the pediatric mask and thankfully it dislodged the carrot on the first application. Killian began to breath again - LifeVac had saved his life.
"Killian was taken to hospital for a check-up after his ordeal and after being checked over by a doctor he returned home with no adverse effects from the choking ordeal.
His grandmother, Toni Hendricks, said: “Thank you to our good Lord, the quick thinking of my daughter Morgan and to Arthur Lih, the inventor of LifeVac for saving my grandson Killian’s life."
Supporters of the Sherry Campbell Foundation are working to ensure the LifeVac product is in every home, school and office in Northern Ireland.
Sherry Campbell died in her Orlock home, in Co Down , and was found dead in the kitchen by her father Shannon, in the early hours of September 7, 2017.
The 29-year-old, a special needs teaching assistant at Strangford College in Carrowdore, choked to death on a piece of steak.
She had been unable to call out to her parents who were asleep upstairs and had their mobile phones on silent mode.
Following her shocking death, Sherry's family set up The Sherry Campbell Foundation to raise awareness of the dangers of choking.
As part of its work, her friend Danielle Elmes, designed the LifeAlert app, which alerts friends and family that victims are in danger and uses their mobile phone's GPS to identify their location at the touch of a button.
It is hoped that proceeds from the app and from funds donated to the foundation by supporters, will be able to buy around 1,200 LifeVacs - enough for every primary and secondary school in Northern Ireland.
The non-powered portable suction device is designed to resuscitate a choking victim after standard protocol has been followed without success.
Including young Killian, from Indiana, LifeVac has now helped save 31 people from choking deaths when standard rescue attempts have failed.
Eric Banagan, LifeVac Europe’s Managing Director, said: “It is always great to hear when LifeVac saves another life, but it is always extra special when we hear it was the life of a little child.
"This once again shows noninvasive suction has a place in BLS protocol as now LifeVac has been used 31 times and saved those 31 lives when current BLS methods have failed or have not been able to be performed."
Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.
Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .
