A heartbroken mum has told how her three-year-old daughter died from in a freak accident when a grape she was choking on triggered a series of cardiac arrests.
Victim Alice Emanuelli Pereira Bacelar began gagging on the fruit at the family home in Goiania, Brazil, on 27th August.
It is understood that part of the grape got lodged in her trachea – or windpipe – blocking air from getting into her lungs.
Her mum, seamstress Leidiane Pereira, told local media: “I didn’t know what she was choking on, but I performed first aid because I’ve seen a lot of news reports about people choking.
“However, the grape didn’t go down, and what she tried to expel came back. It went back into her lung. Then her little lung stopped.”
The family sought help at a nearby church, where a nurse technician and a firefighter gave Alice first aid and managed to remove the grape.
She was rushed to hospital, where she was given oxygen but failed to pull through.
Leidiane said: “I had hope until the very last moment. I won’t lie.
“When I saw my daughter before she was intubated, I had hope. The sadness is profound.”
When Alice arrived at the hospital, her breathing was shallow and she had been deprived of oxygen for about 15 minutes.
Leidiane recalled: “Until then, my daughter was crying. I tried to talk to her, her little eyes froze, stayed wide open, but didn’t move. Then they intubated her.
“After intubation, she had two cardiac arrests.”
The devastated mum told how the first cardiac arrest lasted about seven minutes and the second 22 minutes.
Alice had to be resuscitated and a surgeon had to be called in to remove fluid from her lungs.
Leidiane said: “The doctor said, ‘She’s very strong. She resisted a seven-minute cardiac arrest and a 22-minute one. She’s fighting for her life.'”
However, Alice’s condition worsened and she had two more cardiac arrests during surgery.
Leidiane remembered: “Hope dies last. The team said she had more cardiac arrests. I didn’t hear it clearly; I was desperate. And she passed away.
“Then I was in despair, and they didn’t want to give me the news because I was alone.”
Alice died around 4.50am on 28th August after nearly 19 hours of fighting for life.
The autopsy report will be released within three months and the case has been reported to the police as an accidental death.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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