{"id":72233,"date":"2022-05-25T13:13:51","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T17:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/?p=72233"},"modified":"2022-06-01T09:42:39","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T13:42:39","slug":"are-your-first-aid-and-cpr-certifications-up-to-date-if-not-this-story-will-light-a-fire-under-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/healthy-tomorrows\/are-your-first-aid-and-cpr-certifications-up-to-date-if-not-this-story-will-light-a-fire-under-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Are your first aid and CPR certifications up to date? If not, this story will light a fire under you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sophie Barrette (left), registered nurse at The Ottawa Hospital, reunites with Katie Cleary and her two-year-old son, Van, after Sophie saved the boy from choking by performing CPR. The happy trio are joined by two of Van\u2019s siblings, Willa and Bentley. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, Katie Cleary was shopping at Costco with her two-year-old son, Van, and her infant son, Theodore. They were trying the free samples, as they usually do, when Katie noticed that Van looked like he was having \u201cbrain freeze\u201d after eating a frozen strawberry. She soon realized that his shocked expression was not from the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strawberry was lodged in his throat, and he could not breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The colour in his face quickly began to change. Panicked, she pulled him from the cart and started performing the Heimlich maneuver (abdominal thrusts). But he soon became unconscious in her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shoppers and employees came running to assist. Another bystander performed the Heimlich, with no success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWatching my baby limp and blue, I started screaming for someone to help,\u201d Katie recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An employee yelled for any nurses or doctors to immediately provide first aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophie Barrette is a registered nurse with The Ottawa Hospital who happened to be at Costco that day. When Sophie heard the pleas for help, she left her six-year-old daughter with a bystander and raced to the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Sophie arrived, two men had Van upside down, hitting his back. The men would later tell Sophie that they had both been trained in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), but their certifications were not up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophie took Van into her arms. She put the boy over her knee and performed back blows, but to no effect. She then flipped him over and performed chest compressions for about a minute and a half. \u201cI noticed a bit of colour coming back,\u201d Sophie recalls, \u201cand a faint pulse that I didn\u2019t think would last.\u201d She performed chest compressions again for 30 seconds, and more colour returned to Van\u2019s face. Because the strawberry had not been dislodged, she turned him onto his side to keep his airway as open as possible. \u201cI rubbed his back, and after five minutes, he started to open his eyes.\u201d His mother embraced him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had witnessed a miracle,\u201d says Katie, \u201cand I know those around us felt the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When paramedics arrived, Katie describes how Sophie calmly recounted the details, never wavering in her composure despite the intensity of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know without a doubt that if Sophie was not at Costco that day, our family\u2019s life and happiness would be changed forever,\u201d says Katie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van stayed overnight at CHEO and was released the next day in perfect health. But Katie is already preparing for future emergencies. \u201cI have already booked my family and myself to attend a CPR course. I have bought choking devices to have in my diaper bag and at a friend\u2019s house,\u201d she says. \u201cMy thought is if I can help anyone else the way Sophie has helped me, it\u2019s another way that I can honour her and what she did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare for a health emergency with these helpful resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Ottawa Hospital\u2019s trauma services team has compiled the following list of training programs and resources to help prepare you for a variety of emergency situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique that\u2019s useful in events such as a heart attack or near drowning, in which someone\u2019s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. Most CPR courses include how to assist an individual who is choking, whether they be a child or an adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n