KEY POINTS:
Grandmother Daphne Coats remembered thinking two things while attending a Red Cross first aid course - she would never remember what to do if she found herself in an emergency situation and she could never hit a child that hard.
It turned out she was wrong. A few nights later, when her 10-month-old granddaughter, Charlie Burnby, stopped breathing while choking, Mrs Coats hit her on the back - hard.
Her new skills almost certainly saved the baby's life.
Mrs Coats, 52, said she and her daughter, Kerrilee Burnby, 18, were changing nappies last Wednesday when the baby started choking.
"First she coughed, then it really lodged in her throat. She couldn't make any noise and her little face was so frightened."
Recalling what she had learned just five days earlier, Mrs Coats picked Charlie up by her feet, held her upside down and started hitting her back.
"At first I gave her some grandmotherly pats, but that didn't work so I gave her five really good thumps. It [the piece of plastic] shot out on the fifth one. I was getting a bit panicky by then, though."
Mrs Coats believed the toddler picked up the 1.5cm by 1cm piece of plastic off the floor after a light fitting broke earlier in the week.
Charlie is recovering well, aside from a slightly irritated throat.
Mrs Coats urged others to learn or re-learn first aid techniques.
"It saved my granddaughter's life."
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
