Mother warns parents about dangers of bouncy balls after two-year-old son nearly chokes to death

'Please read. Especially if you are a parent'

A mother has issued a warning to parents after her two-year-old son almost choked to death on a bouncy ball.

Sharing her story on Channel Mum’s Facebook page, Carrie Owen, 37, from Shrewsbury, Staffordshire, recalled the horrifying moment she discovered her son, Toby, had a ball lodged in his throat.

“So I’ve just experienced the worst 24 hours of my life. My son Toby yesterday nearly died. They say you can’t watch them 24/7 and how true that is,” she writes.

Owen goes on to explain how her son walked towards her holding his throat and was unable to breathe. After calling an ambulance, the terrified mother and her husband then attempted to remove the ball and performed back thrusts before a friend assisted with CPR.

“Watching that being performed on your own child is a vision I will never be rid of. He managed only a couple of short laboured breaths and went in and out of consciousness. On two occasions he stopped breathing, his body went limp, eyes in the back of his head. We all thought the worst.”

Within six minutes an ambulance crew arrived just as Toby began turning blue and expelling blood from his nose.

The paramedics quickly took control, open his locked jaw and removed the 4cm wide rubber ball that had become lodged in his throat.

Unable to breathe on his own, the two-year-old boy was then rushed to hospital where x-rays revealed a shadow on his lung.

“There was now the worry of infection and any life long damage caused due to lack of oxygen to his brain,” Owen explains.

After twelve hours of wearing an oxygen mask, Toby finally managed to breathe on his own before being sent home with a course of antibiotics.

At the end of the post, which has since been shared more than 5,000 times, Owen thanked the paramedics and the speedy actions of her family for saving her son’s life.

She hopes that by sharing her story parents will stay vigilant and understand the importance of knowing what to do if your child starts choking.

“Knowing basic first aid can have an incredible impact,” Isobel Kearl, national training officer for St John Ambulance previously told The Independent.

“Armed with this knowledge parents will be able to stop panicking and gain the confidence to take action quickly. Ensuring that they are able to act if their child starts to choke.”

Here, St John Ambulance explains exactly what to do should your child start choking:

Baby (0-12 months)

Step 1: Slap it out

• Lay the baby face down along your thigh and support their head
• Give five back blows between their shoulder blades
• Turn them over and check their mouth each time

Step 2: Squeeze it out

•  Using two fingers, give five sharp chest thrusts
•  Check the mouth each time

Step 3: Call 999/112 for emergency help

• Take the baby with you to call
• Repeat the steps one and two until help arrives

Child

Step 1: Cough it out

• Encourage the child to keep coughing

Step 2: Slap it out

• Give five sharp back blows between the shoulder blades
• Check their mouth each time

Step 3: Squeeze it out

• Give five abdominal thrusts
• Check their mouth each time

Step 4: Call 999/112 for emergency help

• Repeat steps two and three until help arrives.