SCOTT COUNTY, Indiana — A southern Indiana family is extremely grateful after an officer used an anti-choking device to save their young child the day after Thanksgiving.
On Friday, Nov. 29, Scott County Sheriff's Office received a distress call from two parents who said their 2-year-old son, Mark Manning, was not breathing.
Deputy Kyle West was the first to arrive on scene. He found the parents performing "back slaps and stomach thrusts" on their toddler at the end of the driveway, to no avail.
West said the child's face was blue and the boy's father was trying everything to get his son to breathe again. West immediately took over and used a new device recently purchased by the sheriff's office, the LifeVac Suction Device.
The LifeVac Suction Device comes in a small pouch and includes two mouth pieces and a pump all made of plastic.
"I used it because it was what I had," West said. "Two times up and down and it dislodged what was in there."
Using the device, the deputy was able to dislodge a piece of chocolate.
"Then I sat the child up and he was able to still talk a little bit," the deputy said. "I asked him if he's OK and his color started coming back, and then he started puking a little bit and he had a little piece of an ornament that he had also stuck in his mouth that had came up."
Manning's family is using the terrifying experience as a reminder to other families about the dangers of small items around children and why purchasing a simple tool can be the difference between life and death.
"There's two agencies in Scott County that carries them," West said. "I believe Austin Police Department has them and it just so happens that it saved a child's life."
West also has a background of being an EMS for 13 years. He was skeptic of the new tool being placed in every patrol unit at first, but soon after the received a large order of them in October he was able to save Manning's life.
On Wednesday, West was able to reunite with the young boy.
"I've never met him before until then and he was very comfortable," West said. "He got his bottle and blanket and crawled right up into my arms. I have five kiddos so there's nothing like a kid crawling and grabbing a hold of your neck and holding on to you."
West also wants to remind families to be aware this holiday season.
"Even the homemade decorations," West said. "Sometimes they crack and break. Be very mindful especially around children who are at the right level to be able to reach up and grab stuff and put it into their mouth."
Manning was taken to a hospital after being saved and is now at home where he will spend the next holiday with his family.
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