Jackie Walker (R) and Chris Nelson (L) rushed to save young Ronnie Barker’s life after he swallowed his tongue in the supermarket (Picture: Gary Carter)
Heroic supermarket staff stepped in to save a baby’s life after he swallowed his tongue while out shopping with his family.
Lucy Barkham was doing her weekly shop at Asda’s branch in Worsbrough, South Yorkshire, with her partner Calum and three children, when she noticed her youngest was ‘shaking’ in his pushchair.
One-year-old Ronnie had swallowed his tongue after suffering a febrile convulsion – a seizure caused by a high fever- but was saved by quick-thinking staff members Jackie Walker and Chris Nelson who swept in to save the day.
Lucy says she owes her son’s life to Jackie and Chris, and said her family couldn’t thank them enough for their quick-thinking intervention.
The 27-year-old said: ‘We can’t thank Jackie and Chris enough for what they did that day – they saved Ronnie’s life.
‘They were so quick and everyone there was so understanding.
‘We were at the end of our shop and we were just getting our last bits when we noticed Ronnie shaking in his pushchair – I just shouted for help as I didn’t know what was happening.
Ronnie, 1, had suffered a febrile convulsion while out shopping with the family (Picture: Getty)
‘My partner got him out of the pushchair and then Jackie took over while another colleague called for an ambulance.
‘I was beside myself at this point as Ronnie had gone blue in the face.
‘I thought he was dying and it was so frightening.
‘One minute he was fine and the next minute he was shaking.
‘It turned out he’d had a seizure and had choked on his tongue- It was a really scary time for everyone.’
But it was all in a day’s work for grandmother-of-seven Jackie who, after saving the baby’s life, settled back at her checkout soon after Ronnie was rushed to Barnsley Hospital, where doctors diagnosed a throat infection which caused him to have a high temperature and the seizure.
After an emotional reunion, the 62-year-old said: ‘It was great to see Ronnie again – the last time I saw him he was such a poorly baby, but now he’s a rosy-cheeked little chunk.
‘After seeing them all terrified and upset it was great to see a happy wee family.
‘The day Ronnie stopped breathing was a day he won’t remember, but one the rest of us won’t forget.
‘One of my colleagues rushed down to me saying there was a baby who had gone blue and if I knew what to do.
‘I asked Calum if I could take the baby from him as he was just limp and not breathing.
‘I turned him upside down and patted him on the back, but nothing was happening, so I put my fingers in his throat to see if there was anything stuck, but I couldn’t see anything.
‘I gave him another whack on the back and then Chris took over and thumped him on the back too.
‘We got him breathing again for about two minutes but then he stopped again for a few seconds.
‘He started again just before the paramedics came and took over – it was such a relief that he started to breathe again, it really was.
‘At the time the adrenaline just took over and I knew I just had to get things done but it was afterwards that I was a bit shaky.
‘Chris was so calm throughout it all too. He was great.’
After becoming a literal lifesaver, it was soon back to business as usual.
Jackie added: ‘The whole incident took only five or six minutes, but it felt a lot longer.
‘After Ronnie was taken to hospital I just went back to my checkout.’
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