St John WA team member saves little girl from choking thanks to first aid course

A recent first aid course done by a St John WA team member has paid off, with a little girl saved from choking.

Ashleigh Kretzmann was at her local shopping centre last week when she heard a woman crying out that her daughter was choking.

The girl, who was about four years old, had been sucking on a lollipop when the stick dislodged, causing the lolly to become stuck.

“She was visibly choking,” Ashleigh said.

“A few bystanders were not doing anything.

“I walked straight up and told the little girl to try and cough.”

When this didn’t work, Ashleigh bent down and put the child over her knee.

She gave two blows to the back of the girl, and the lolly flew out.

“It all happened within about 30 seconds, but felt like forever,” Ashleigh said.

“The mother was so grateful.

“One elderly man was just standing there afterwards, patting me and saying: “Thank God you were here”.

For Ashleigh, the incident felt very close to home.

“In January I had my daughter’s fifth birthday and my friend’s daughter who was three choked on a grape,” she said.

“I did nothing! My friend and I were just screaming and crying.

“A lady came and tried to help but couldn’t get it dislodged until my dad came and did the old school way of helping and it worked.

“We were all so shaken up over it.”

The next week Ashleigh booked herself into a first aid course.

She said she spoke with the trainer specifically about choking, as her experience had been so traumatic.

“Because of the first aid course and the training I was given, I felt confident enough to help,” Ashleigh said.

“If I hadn’t done the course, I do not think I would have stepped in last week.

“The importance of having the confidence to help is so important.”

Ashleigh said the worst thing someone could do during an emergency was “nothing at all” and encouraged everyone to do a course or to ensure their first aid skills were up-to-date.

St John WA provides a range of first aid courses.

Simple first aid guides are also available online, including information on what to do if someone is choking.