The survival story comes as St John Ambulance today launches a new advertisement campaign about the critical importance of first aid skills.
Katie De Jong had just finished showering Gray last Thursday morning when the baby boy started crying.
Unknown to the 25-year-old mum, her son had put the lid in his mouth.
“I tried to get it out but it was wedged at the roof of his mouth,” Mrs De Jong said.
“It was in the back of his throat between his teeth.
“Because it was rigid, it cut the top of his mouth. His mouth started filling up with blood and saliva.
“He kept trying to shove his hand in his mouth to grab it and when he did that he pushed it further back. I put him in the recovery position and called the ambulance. It was such a scary moment.”
Rockingham mum Katie De Jong’s baby boy Gray, 11 months, nearly choked on a toothpaste lid. She is urging others to do a first aid course. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper
As she waited for paramedics to arrive, she put her little finger into Gray’s mouth to drain out the blood and prevent the lid from moving any further.
“I had him on my stomach with his head facing towards the ground. I tapped him between his shoulder blades every now and again to make sure he was still breathing,” she said.
Within a few minutes of the ambulance arriving, paramedics used a clamp-like tool to pull the lid out of Gray’s mouth.
Rockingham mum Katie De Jong’s baby boy Gray, 11 months, nearly choked on a toothpaste lid. She is urging others to do a first aid course. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper
Mrs De Jong said the fact she had done a first aid course when she was a teenager, and several “refresher” courses since, was crucial in helping her son breathe. She said several of her friends had since committed themselves to learning first aid.
“I think first aid is so important for everybody, not just for parents. I can’t even begin to imagine what the outcome would have been if I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Ambulance officer James Lyons, who features in the new St John Ambulance advert, said: “It’s a skill that anybody can do, you never know when you are going to need it.