An Welsh NHS worker saved the life of an 18-month-old baby who was choking to death.
Hero Lisa Lynch sprang into action when she saw a fellow mum panicking while she was out shopping.
Ms Lynch was paying for her shopping with her daughter at One Below on Regent Street, Wrexham, last weekend when a mother frantically ran into the discount store to buy a bottle of water in a bid to save her son.
Knowing that water would make it worse, the 46-year-old senior radiographic assistant at Wrexham’s Maelor Hospital, abandoned her shopping and ran outside to help.
When she saw the child’s lips were blue, the mother-of-four grabbed the baby from his desperate father’s arms and immediately put her first-aid training into practice.
Speaking to North Wales Live Ms Lynch, from Rhosddu, said: “As soon as I heard his mum saying she needed to give him water, I started to panic because you don’t give anyone anything if they’re choking.
“I abandoned everything and just ran out to help.
“I took the little boy off his dad and did what I could.
“He was so small.”
Leaning the child forward, she gave five hard back blows with the heel of her hand.
“I looked at him and he was still struggling, so I did it again for a second time and still, nothing,” she said.
“As I tried it one more time, on the third slap I felt a cough and something go down in his tummy.
“I stood him up and these big wide eyes just opened and he started wiping his eyes.
“His mum was on the phone to the ambulance and there were police cars coming towards me - it all happened so quickly.
“The baby’s dad just kept thanking me for saving him.”
Moments later, police arrived and took the little boy to hospital to be checked over.
Ms Lynch said her colleagues later informed her the child was well and without her, it could have been a very different story.
“I’ve been told he’s OK, and that’s all that matters,” she said.
“I’ve had no contact with the parents since because of course the police couldn’t pass my details on so I was so pleased when I heard he was OK."
She added: “I think the adrenaline kicked in as soon as I got in my car because I just started to shake, I don’t even know how I got home.
“My knees were shaking, my hands were shaking - I just couldn’t believe what had happened.
“I think it was the realisation that I had just saved that little boy’s life and he could have died.”
She added: “When we got back to the car, my daughter just said, ‘mum, I am so proud of you, you’ve just saved that little boy's life’.
“I just took him and did what I needed to do.
“You never think you’ll ever need your training, and then boom, it all comes back to you like that.
“I kept thinking that I was going to have to do CPR on this little boy.
“Everything was going around in my head while I was trying to deal with the situation - and I was being watched because there was a big crowd of people."
Ms Lynch, who has worked with children for over 20 years after managing a day nursery, said in all her years in childcare it was the first time she had to help a choking child.
She added: “Knowing what to do was just a natural instinct I suppose.
“Straight away I just knew I needed to help.
“At the moment, we’re told we’re not allowed to perform CPR until we’re in full PPE.
“But if anything would have happened to that little boy, I would have done it.
“There was no way I would have allowed a child to die - I don’t think anybody would.”
North Wales Police confirmed they were called to the incident shortly before 3pm.
A spokesman said the little boy was OK when officers arrived, but took him to hospital for a check up.
