Horrible story

[POOH&PIGLET]

POPCORN KILLS TOT
August 17, 2004 -- A family night at the movies became every parent's worst nightmare when a toddler choked to death on popcorn after repeated efforts by his frantic folks to save him, Nassau police said yesterday.
Deonte Riley "was only 3 years old," sobbed his mother, Elaine McIntosh, who tried to save her son when she realized he was struggling to breathe. "He was a good baby."

It was supposed to be a celebratory day for the Queens Village family after the boy's dad, Eddie Riley Sr., 36, got a security job after being unemployed for months.

They took Deonte and his brother, Eddie Jr., 13, to the Sunrise Multiplex Cinemas in Valley Stream Sunday evening.

"We haven't had a family day for the past six months," McIntosh told reporters gathered outside the Briarwood shelter where the family lives.

"We had a couple of dollars, we had a car, my husband got paid, we had Pampers and food in the fridge. I said to my husband, 'We've got a little extra cash, let's have a family day.' "

McIntosh said she'd been out of work as a special-ed teacher for the Department of Education since June 2003, and when the family could not pay the rent, they were forced to move to a shelter.

McIntosh said the family's evening at the movies started out just fine. While the two boys played video games in the lobby of the theater, where they were to attend the 6:35 p.m. showing of "Alien vs. Predator," she bought three hot dogs and a bag of popcorn.

But once inside the theater, things went horribly wrong. She noticed that Deonte, who was seated next to her, was having trouble breathing and had a piece of popcorn lodged in his throat.

"I patted him as hard as I could and I grabbed him," McIntosh said. "I turned to my husband and I said, 'Take the baby, the baby is choking! Take the baby, he's dying.' " McIntosh said her husband "tried everything" to save him.

At one point, the couple took the boy to the lobby, where they continued to try and clear his airway, using the finger-sweep method and a version of CPR, police said. "My husband was trying everything," McIntosh wept.

"I tried the Heimlich. It was hard, he was limp," recounted the boy's father, Eddie Sr. "I didn't want to hurt my own son." When his attempts failed, Riley phoned 911.

A passer-by overheard his frantic call for help and ran to retrieve his wife, a nurse, who was inside the theater. But her attempts to clear the boy's mouth were unsuccessful.

Deonte was transported to Mercy Hospital, where was pronounced dead at 7:48 p.m.

Police, awaiting the results of an autopsy, said it appeared the boy choked on a single kernel of popcorn.

"It only takes one piece of food," said Nassau homicide Detective Sgt. Richard Laursen.

 

[mrskay9]

I saw an ad for a CPR class this Friday, but said to myself, I'm too busy.

I think I'll call and make the reservation for it. Thank you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Kind of off the subject, but what 3 yr old needs to see Alien vs. Predator?????

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Originally posted by Deb & Bill
Kind of off the subject, but what 3 yr old needs to see Alien vs. Predator?????

I felt bad because I thought that also.

I'm paranoid about my kids choking on hotdogs, etc. but I never considered popcorn a hazard.

 

[HappyLawyer]

i really don't think it is up to any of us to wonder why a 3 yr old was watching that movie, the bible says not to judge so everyone can raise their children and let them watch whatever they choose and they deal with any issues.
It is so nice to see the sympathy and concern for this family.
My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to this family, they finally overcame just to hit another downfall. This could happen to any of us, it is just terrible

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

That is so scary.

My son choked on pasta when he was ten months old. He turned blue and passed out. Luckily, I was able to dislodge it just as 911 answered my call. He was ok but it was absolutely the most frightening moment of my life!

 

[Daxx]

Popcorn, celery, carrots, whole grapes, nuts, hard candy, peanut butter, and hot dogs are among many choking hazards in toddlers.

Any chunks of meat should be cut up into small pieces ... pea sized.

Grapes, melon balls and whole cherries can be sliced into smaller pieces, hot dogs can be quartered, carrots can be cut finely.

Hard candies such as gumdrops, cough drops, lollipops, raisins, and other small dried fruit, seeds, and chewing gum are potential choking hazards. Also avoid certain soft foods that might get lodged in your child's throat, like marshmallows and jelly candies.

I recently read an article on these jelly candies that they sell at large warehouse stores -- they're in "bucket" type containers and look like a circle w/a bubble on top. Anyway, many children have choked to death on them b/c of the shape -- and they get really gooey and you can't get them out of the airway properly.

How sad ... if only the parents knew that popcorn was on the list of foods that are choking hazards to children. We got a chart from our Ped. and kept it on the fridge. I had that thing memorized and made sure anyone taking care of DS knew not to give him those items.

 

[TexasErin]

Oh my god! That is so heartbreaking. I feel so bad for their family. My prayers go out to their family.
I would have thought any child under 3 shouldn't have popcorn, but I might have given it to a 3-year-old. This alone has made me decide to hold off on giving popcorn to my 22-month-old until he is 4 years old.
So sad.

 

[Trinity721]

Our pediatrician gave us a list of foods that are choking hazards, and popcorn was one of them. So are raisins, and DD loved raising. She doesn't eat them anymore. But I have never given her popcorn.

My heart goes out to the family. I can't even imagine their pain.

 

[Kendra17]

Originally posted by HappyLawyer
i really don't think it is up to any of us to wonder why a 3 yr old was watching that movie, the bible says not to judge so everyone can raise their children and let them watch whatever they choose and they deal with any issues.
It is so nice to see the sympathy and concern for this family.
My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to this family, they finally overcame just to hit another downfall. This could happen to any of us, it is just terrible

It is just terrible, but I wanted to mention something that made the version of the article in my paper. In the version I read, the mother looked over at her son and thought he was just scared from the movie. . . THEN a few seconds later, she realize he was choking.

Anyways, my husband had wondered if the boy possibly gasped from fear and, while gasping, choked.

I DO have lots of sympathy for this family, definitely. . .but I was also wondering why a three year old would see this movie.

 

[firemouse]

Let me say how sorry I am for this family, wow what a loss.
Let me give you all an idea, take a CPR class that teaches Adult, child and infant CPR/ clearing and airway obstruction. Contact your local Fire Department, a lot of them will give CPR to a group of moms or dads for free and if you dont get the class, stop and ask how do I clear an airway. I am a firefighter/medic and I have a good story, 3y/o w/m fell into pool and almost drowned, bystanders knew cpr, started breathing for him and he was doing great when I got there. Had someone not know, the outcome would have been really bad. We are there to protect you, but it only takes 4-6 minutes for brain death to occur. We can get there in 5-6 minutes..... Hmmm do the math. Take the time to get trained. In the world today with the posiblility of terrorism everywhere, CPR and first Aid will save many lives, in the first few minutes of an emergency the tone of the outcome is set, you could be the reason a little one or a mom and dad get one more trip to wdw.

God bless and if any one need any other help or suggestions I would be glad to assist.

Eric

 

[laceemouse]

When my kids were little I used to bite off the brown crunchy part of the popcorn and give them only the soft fluffy parts, which they loved. It worked for us, but none of my 4 were easy chokers. Better safe than sorry, I really feel sorry for that family, but we are also very picky about what our kids see so I have to say I wondered about the movie too. I am so glad my kids are older now so I don't have to worry so much about the choking thing, although anyone can choke.

 

[worlddreamer]

The real lesson here is that we are never totally safe..

I am an EMT, and a nurse, and unfortunately, kids can and do choke on just about everything. I once answered a call of a 16 year old choking on a Wether's candy! Does this mean we shouldn't allow kids to eat these things? No, probably not, but what it does mean is that we all need to be responsible and learn life saving techniques as well as monitor our kids CLOSELY. JMHO, becuase I don't have any children - in fact, I think my career has made me too paranoid to concieve! My kids would not be allowed to leave my site!

I work with an experimental program that teaches grade school children how to do CPR and Heimlich, and it seems to be working well.. although it is hard for them.. If it were up to me, all people would learn before they graduated high school - it would be a requirement in health class.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get CPR, First Aid, and AED certified, even if you think you don't need it or would never use it. It's sad that in a movie theater full of people, no one was able to help

 

[DisFam95]

Originally posted by POOH&PIGLET


At one point, the couple took the boy to the lobby, where they continued to try and clear his airway, using the finger-sweep method and a version of CPR, police said. "My husband was trying everything," McIntosh wept.

In our American Heart Assoc. CPR class we learned to NEVER do the finger sweep unless you can see the object. If you stick your finger in a childs throat w/o seeing the object you run the risk of probably lodging the object further down.