81-Year-Old Woman Saved with LifeVac – #505

LifeVac is thrilled to share details on our 505th life saved.

On September 9th the Coral Springs Fire Department responded to a choking emergency at a local restaurant.  An 81-year-old female choked on a piece of steak.  The meat caused a total obstruction. They, unfortunately, had a choking death in their city 16-17 years ago.  There was a hot dog eating contest.  The child tried to swallow the hot dog whole.  The department responded to the call and was not able to remove the hot dog. The child passed away.  When they heard about LifeVac they knew they needed an additional rescue option.

“This LifeVac was used by the Coral Springs Parkland Fire Department. CPR was being done when the crews arrived. After the LifeVac was used the piece of steak was removed completely, and the patient started breathing on her own. The patient appeared to have no deficits from the lack of oxygen and was talking when the crew arrived at the hospital! The LifeVac was able to bring the steak up out of the throat, and then the Magill Forceps were used to pull it completely out of the mouth. The Heimlich maneuver was done by a firefighter/paramedic and the patient still went unconscious. CPR was being performed when the LifeVac was decided to be used. I saw a Facebook post about the LifeVac saving a baby. I decided to get one for myself and I told my fire department to order some for trial. The LifeVac just happened to be on the right fire truck and used at the right time to save a woman’s life.”