A mum blogger has issued a warning to other parents after her daughter ‘nearly died’ after inhaling popcorn.
Australian blogger Cheree Lawrence took to Instagram to share a blog post she’d written about how her three-year-old daughter nearly died after inhaling a piece of popcorn that got trapped in her lungs.
Alongside a heartbreaking photo of her young daughter in a hospital bed, Cheree wrote: ‘I’m sharing this post so that other parents know the dangers of giving young children popcorn and a reminder to always trust your gut instinct.
‘I ignored my gut instinct and put all my trust in what doctors were telling me (because how could so many doctors get it wrong?), and it could have very well cost my daughter her life.
‘It’s taken me a very long time to share this post,’ added the mum-of-four. ‘Mainly because I didn’t want to be judged by others and I wish I did things a little differently.‘Luckily it worked out in the end, but it could have ended very differently.’
Cheree then linked to her blog post which tells how after multiple trips to A&E, where doctors refused to X-ray because doctors were convinced it was just a ‘sudden onset of asthma’, her daughter was diagnosed by a specialist with pneumonia and inflammation on her lung because she had breathed in a piece of popcorn that got trapped in her lung.
‘She was taken into emergency surgery to remove the piece of popcorn that she had in fact aspirated on 5 weeks earlier,’ explained Cheree. ‘It was too late! The damage was done. The popcorn had caused some damage to her lung because it sat there for 5 long weeks and slowly started breaking down.’
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‘I regret not pushing more for an x-ray at the start and implementing Ryan’s rule,’ added Cheree.
Ryan’s rule is a system in Queensland, Australia, where families can raise concerns if they feel like their child is not receiving adequate care or if their symptoms are getting worse.
‘Please remember to always trust your gut instinct and to advocate if needed for your child,’ warned Cheree. ‘Doctors can and do get it wrong all the time and us as parents know our children and know when something is off with them.’
