Mother issues urgent Cadbury’s Mini Egg warning after finding her son 7 seconds from death

Entertainment

A mother has issued an urgent warning against Cadbury’s Mini Eggs after finding her son dead seconds after one got stuck in his throat.

Vicky Heavey, 40, was about to perform CPR on her seven-year-old son Jacob after he sprinted out with his hands around his throat on Saturday, March 2.

The mother-of-two, from Warrington, Cheshire, claimed her child’s face ‘turned blue’ and eyes became bloodshot when she started hitting his back to dislodge the object blocking his airway.

After two painfully long minutes of choking, Vicky said a Mini Egg flew out of Jacob’s mouth and landed in the front garden before the little boy became sick from the ordeal.

Vicky insists she could have easily lost her child that day – and vows never to give him Mini Eggs again, banishing them from their household.

A mother has issued an urgent warning against Cadbury’s Mini Eggs after finding her son dead seconds after one got stuck in his throat

The student nurse, who is also mother to 20-year-old daughter Ellie Heavey, said she bought the chocolate treats for her son as a weekend treat and he started eating them on the sofa when the incident happened.

Vicky said: ‘Jacob came running out with his hands around his throat.

‘It was clear he was choking, he couldn’t talk. I just knew right away that he was choking. I could see the fear on his face. He couldn’t breathe.

‘I tried to encourage him to cough, but he couldn’t cough. I work in a hospital, so I knew very well what to do. I had no idea what he was choking on.

‘It took a long time, he turned blue and his eyes became bloodshot. It was pretty quiet considering he was choking.

‘I was shocked. It was almost two minutes. I was about to do CPR and call the ambulance. Then there was just one big hit and this Mini Egg flew out and he got sick all over.

‘I told my daughter to call an ambulance and as she picked up her phone, that’s when the Mini Egg came out.’

Vicky said her family has enjoyed Mini Eggs “a million times” over the years, but never thought the small round objects could pose a choking hazard.

Vicky Heavey (LEFT), 40, was about to resuscitate her seven-year-old son Jacob (RIGHT) when he sprinted out with his hands clutched around his throat on Saturday, March 2.

Vicky insists she could have easily lost her child that day – and vows never to give him Mini Eggs again, banishing them from their household

She admitted, “We are a family that loves mini eggs. He must have had about a million mini eggs in his life. It’s not something we ever thought would happen.

‘It didn’t hit me until the next day. What if he hadn’t run to me? What if he stayed in the front room? If someone isn’t breathing, you only have a short time.

‘It was a few seconds before he fell unconscious; he couldn’t breathe. You just don’t expect this to happen when you’ve had Mini Eggs so many times.”

It comes as The Child Accident Prevention Trust has urged parents to ‘please be safe’ when giving Cadbury Mini Eggs to their children over the Easter period.

The organization warned that the Easter sweets may be the ‘perfect little treat for your little one’, but due to their size they can block a small child’s airways.

After the terrifying ordeal, the mum has vowed to ban Mini Eggs from her home this Easter – and believes Cadbury should expand the age range warning on the back of the pack.

Mini eggs currently have a written warning on the packaging stating that the chocolate should not be consumed by children under the age of four.

Vicky said: ‘There is a warning on the pack for children under 4, but Jacob is seven. I don’t think the warning should be age specific. Even I, as an adult, could easily choke on it.

Mini eggs currently have a written warning on the packaging stating that the chocolate should not be consumed by children under the age of four

‘You never think you can lose your child over a piece of chocolate. It was terrifying. I never in a million years thought I would have to do that to my child because of a Mini Egg.

‘I was so close to having to resuscitate my own child in my front garden because of a Mini Egg.’

She added: “This has put me off for life. Mini eggs are banned this Easter. It’s not worth the risk. I can’t believe how long it took to break free.’

What to do if your child is choking:

DON’T WASTE A MOMENT: If the object doesn’t come out when they cough, act immediately. Look for an object, but only remove it if you think you can reach it without pushing it further down the throat.

FROM BIRTH TO ONE YEAR OLD: Place the baby face down, with the head lower than the body. Give five firm blows to the back between the shoulder blades with the flat of your hand. If the airways are still blocked, turn them over on your arm, with the head still low. Use two fingers in the center of the chest and press down a third of the depth of the chest. Check the mouth after each push and remove any obvious obstructions. After three cycles of backstrokes followed by chest thrusts, call 999 and continue the cycles. Never perform an abdominal thrust.

FOR CHILDREN FROM 1 TO PUBERTY: Place the child on your knee and give five blows to the back. If this doesn’t work, give up to five abdominal thrusts. Stand behind it and place a fist between the navel and the bottom of the sternum and pull it in and up. If the obstruction does not clear after three cycles of back blows and abdominal thrusts, call 999 for an ambulance and continue the cycles until help arrives.

A spokesperson for Mondelez International, which owns Cadbury, said: ‘Consumer safety is of the utmost importance to us and all our Cadbury Mini Eggs products carry a very clear choking hazard warning on the pack.

‘We also emphasize on all Mini Eggs packaging that these products are not suitable for children under the age of four.’

In 2018, a troubled mother, who says her daughter died after choking on a Mini Egg, warned other parents about the potential dangers of the chocolate treats.

The heartbroken parent claimed she tragically lost her five-year-old girl after choking on ‘the dangerous danger’ and wanted to warn families ahead of Easter so her daughter’s death ‘would not be in vain’.

Sophie, the unnamed mother’s daughter, died after “she choked on a mini egg and I couldn’t get it loose, even with slaps on the back and pushing it up and under her ribs.”

“I had taken a first aid course just six months prior to this event, so all the techniques to help a choking child were still fresh in my mind, but it didn’t help,” the mother wrote. Mother’s advice.