SHAH ALAM – A mother nearly lost her child when a single uninflated balloon got stuck in his airway, causing his heart to stop momentarily.
Nurul Huda Zulkhairi, in a Facebook post said she never imagined that a birthday celebration planned for her child would turn into the darkest moment of her life.
Huda said that initially, she and her husband were busy entertaining guests while their son played with his best friend, but things took a terrifying turn not long after.
"Before the incident, Uwais Al-Fateh sat at my table drinking water, then walked off to continue playing and running around the house.
"My sister-in-law (Zahidah) mentioned that ‘Uwais seems to be wheezing,’ so my husband grabbed the inhaler since Uwais used to have asthma attacks. Suddenly, things escalated when my brother-in-law (Nabil) ran towards my husband carrying my son, who had already turned blue. His heart had stopped.
"My husband and his friend carried out several procedures, thinking he may have choked on food. They tried the CPR technique to dislodge any blockage, but it didn’t work. They immediately rushed him to the hospital,” she said on Thursday.
Huda shared that her son’s chances of survival were about 50-50 because his heart had already stopped beating.
Upon arriving at the hospital, she said the doctor, who was working hard to save her son, saw the balloon in his airway while preparing to intubate him.
"The doctor quickly removed the balloon and performed CPR right away. Alhamdulillah, Allah SWT returned my child’s life to us!
"Thank you to the Emergency Unit team at Kulim Hospital, Kedah, who acted swiftly, and to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital as well.
"Everything happened so fast. Apparently, Uwais was playing with his best friend, put the balloon in his mouth while running around, and possibly choked on it,” she added.
In her latest update, Huda said that Uwais’s blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels are now stable, but he still needs to rest.
She explained that Uwais is still on respiratory support and has received two bags of blood.