LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Parents Dakotah and Haley Thomas said they'll be forever grateful to the Seymour Police Department after one of the scariest nights of their life.
It was Saturday, Aug. 3. Haley had just wrapped up an overnight feeding with her 1-month-old boy, Linden, and put him back to sleep.
They'd only been home a week from the NICU, when Haley started hearing what she says was the most horrific sound.
Linden was choking, on what his mom assumed was milk or spit up.
"I tried burping him - nothing," Haley said. "I tried to use a Nosefrida sucker on him. Stuff was coming but it was so thick I couldn’t suck any more out. Then he went limp, and stopped making noise. That’s when I knew I had to call 911."
What she didn't know at the time, was that just eight days prior on July 26, the Seymour Police Department received a LifeVac USA device, and immediately began training.
Officer Dakota Burke would be the first to use it in a real emergency. He, along with Cpl. Stuart Bryan, Ofc. Austin Peelman, Ofc. Devin Hill, and Ofc. Levi Peacock responded with that device, which creates suction from the mouth of the victim, and quickly cleared Linden's airway.
The baby was checked over and given the all clear at Schneck Medical Center.
"All officers in the department will be issued the LifeVac system after they complete the required training," Lt. CJ Foster with Seymour Police said in a social media post. "The idea of adding the LifeVac system to the Seymour Police Department’s bag of tools if you will, came from Cpl. Jeremy Soliday. Cpl. Soliday suggested the LifeVac system as an additional tool for officers in a recent supervisor meeting."
Foster attributed LifeVac statistics, saying Linden's save by the Seymour Police Department is the 2,627th reported life saved with this device.
According to the LifeVac Website, it's a non-powered, non-invasive, single-use only airway clearance device developed for resuscitating a victim with an airway obstruction when current choking protocols have been followed without success.
LifeVac has a one-way valve that does not allow any air to enter a choking victim on the downward motion. The LifeVac comes fully equipped with an adult mask, a pediatric mask, and a practice mask. The duration of the suction is minimal which makes LifeVac safe and effective. Free online training is available.
It is important to know the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any anti-choking devices on the market, and recommends the well-established Heimlich maneuver to save a choking victim.
The FDA admitted back in April, it is “not aware of any serious injuries reported with the use of these devices, and no deaths have been associated with the use of anti-choking devices." It was more concerned about the time one would take getting it out of the package and reading directions when every second matters.
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