7 year old dies after choking on seed
In the south, a seven year old student died under unusual circumstances following a sudden ingestion of a seed. At around three p.m. on Wednesday, Denia Rodriguez of Bella Vista in Stann Creek was rushed to the village health clinic where Albertina Rodriguez told medical officers that her daughter had swallowed the seed of a Guinep, known locally as “kinep”. Despite doctors’ attempts to remove the seed, the child died a half hour later. Denia’s body is now at the Dangriga morgue where it awaits a post-mortem.
Terribly tragic story. My prayers are with the child’s soul and her family.
There are basic first aid techniques that should be taught to Belizeans in school, and one of them is the “Heimlich maneuver.” It is a way to expel a hard swallowed object from a person’s airway, and I know it works, because I once had the occasion to use it to remove a hard candy from a choking 2-year old’s airway. It was easy to do, and it worked immediately.
Heimlich, CPR, and a few other techniques should be mandatory in Belize schools, in my opinion. I assume BDF personnel know these techniques and could teach them in an hour or two in schools across the nation.
Very sad story, my condolences to the family. Guinep seed blocking her airway probably, requiring rapid first aid. Such a freak accident considering the 100,000’s of Belizean children who grew up eating this fruit. RIP, little Denia