Brenda Maggiora is grateful her daughter Ashley, 3, prevented

Those little rubber nubs at the end of door bumpers can be
dangerous.
By Perry Shirley

Staff Writer

Gilroy – Those little rubber nubs at the end of door bumpers can be dangerous. Eleven-month-old Megan would say so, if she could speak. But her 3-year-old sister knows all too well, and she can tell the story of what happened that day in mid-June.

“I saved my sister,” the 3-year-old recounted last week. “She put one of those things in her mouth and I opened her mouth and took it out.”

Their mother was in another room when the infant somehow got a hold of a rubber stopper. Her sister saw her begin to choke, opened her mouth, and calmly removed the obstacle.

Their mother Brenda Maggiora learned a good lesson as well. With choking hazards, a quick response matters most, and no matter how good a parent you are, it’s always good to have a little extra help.

“With this, nothing short of removing the device could have prevented what happened, but we have (taught) Ashley to look out for her sister,” Maggiora said. “My 3-year-old acted quickly and took it out her mouth and then called me. If she had hesitated and called for me first it could have been more serious.”

Emergencies can happen at any time, warned Cynthia Shaw, a spokesperson for Santa Clara County’s American Red Cross. Prevention can be tricky – parents can childproof their homes but unexpected situations always arise.

“Kids think they are invincible and can get themselves in some difficult situations,” Shaw said.

Devices such as baby gates, cabinet locks and outlet covers are as common in the modern parent’s arsenal as baby wipes and diapers, but it wasn’t always the case.

Maggiora remembers growing up in a two-story home with no gates and having a relatively accident-free childhood. Today, she said she thinks people are “more safety conscious and safety aware” and that even safety devices are not enough.

“I wish to God I had been right next to her, but we can’t be there all the time,” Maggiora said.

A typical American Medical Response’s dispatcher for Santa Clara County will get between 220 to 300 calls a day, dealing with anything from flu-like symptoms to gunshots, but when the calls are regarding infants “it’s frequently choking, kids getting into stuff they shouldn’t be,” said Marcie Morrow, AMR’s fire service liaison.

The first few minutes of an emergency are critical and can make “a difference in the recovery,” Shaw said.

For that reason, parents or caregivers are encouraged to take one of the American Red Cross’ cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes during which they will learn and practice CPR, rescue breathing, choking rescue and other pre-hospital emergency care procedures. The seven-hour classes, which cost $55, are right now only available at the Red Cross San Jose offices. The spokesperson added that the Red Cross is working to bring classes to South County and could have some in by the end of the year.

To learn more about classes offered by the American Red Cross call (408) 577-1000 or visit www.svc-redcross.org

Perry Shirley is a news intern and currently attends San Francisco State University.

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