Leeds mum's safety warning for other parents after toddler's choking scare

A Leeds mum whose toddler's life was saved by an ambulance crew is urging parents to take heed of the messages of this year's Family Safety Week.
The Bavill family with the lifesaving ambulance crew.The Bavill family with the lifesaving ambulance crew.
The Bavill family with the lifesaving ambulance crew.

As previously reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Katy Bavill’s two-year-old son, Ralph, stopped breathing and suffered a cardiac arrest in January after choking on a grape at the family’s home in Alwoodley.

Ralph was only showing faint signs of life when ambulance staff arrived but they managed to resuscitate him and he has since made a full recovery.

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Now Katy has teamed up with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust to support Family Safety Week, which is led by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

She said: “You just don’t think about these things unless you have to and Ralph had been eating grapes for a while. The possibility of him choking on one just wasn’t on my radar.

“I don’t want anyone to suffer like we did that night, so I think every parent and carer should be aware of choking hazards at snack or meal time.

“It doesn’t matter how old your child is, how aware you are or they are, or how closely you think you’re watching them, it can still happen in a split second.

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“Luckily, I was sitting next to Ralph when he choked, so was able to respond immediately.

“Now that Ralph is completely better and life is moving along, we’re using our experience to extol the virtues of first aid knowledge.

“It was a lesson harshly learned and I feel strongly about helping other people to be prepared for any emergency.”

Family Safety Week aims to make parents aware of the simple steps they can take to stop accidents happening in their home.

For further information about the initiative, visit www.rospa.com/fsw.