An off-duty Nanaimo RCMP officer is being praised by the parents of 17-month old Hanna after CPR helped save the infant’s life while she was choking.
The incident took place at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Monday August 30, along the side of Highway 19 between Woss and Sayward on Vancouver Island.
Const. Denis Laforest with Nanaimo RCMP was travelling up-Island to visit her husband, who recently transferred to Alert Bay, when she came across a car on the side of the road.
Const. Laforest says that as she drove passed the car, a man jumped out in a state of panic holding a limp infant.
The off-duty RCMP officer turned around and stopped her vehicle, approaching the man and child telling them she knew first aid.
Const. Laforest told the man, Sam, to call 911 while she assessed the child and determined the child was choking.
There appeared to be no injuries or blockages in the infant’s airway, and a weak pulse could be found, however, after doing some back blows in hopes of dislodging whatever the child was choking on, the child did not respond and the pulse disappeared.
In a report, it outlines that Const. Laforest immediately began CPR going back and forth between giving mouth to mouth resuscitations and finder compressions on her chest.
After “several minutes” Hanna began to make a small wheezing sound. At that time, a small amount of debris from Hanna’s mouth was able to be cleared and the infant started crying shortly after that.
“Collectively, it was the most beautiful sound we had ever heard,” said Laforest.
Where they were parked on the roadside, there was no cell reception either so Sam was unable to contact 911, noted RCMP.
Sam, along with his partner Amanda, proceeded to drive into Woss to a first aid clinic to have Hanna assessed. They then travelled to Campbell River where the infant was admitted to hospital. Approximately 7 hours after the choking incident, she was released with a clean bill of health.
The family, who had travelled to the Island for a visit, says that they intend to enroll in an emergency first aid course when they return home.
Const. Laforest, who had recently completed a refresher first aid course herself, says, If it wasn’t for that, my training may not have kicked in and we could have been looking at a very different outcome.
Graham Cox
