Turkey Baster Rescue: Man Clears Baby Nessa Shoup's Airway Using the Kitchen Utensil[Video]
![Turkey Baster Rescue: Quick Witted Man Saves Baby [Video]](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/229171/turkey-baster-rescue-quick-witted-man-saves-baby-video.jpg?w=600&f=1f35022cc76cbff4fa5337ecccba69bb)
One does not automatically think to use a turkey baster to clear a baby's throat of mucus, but one man, Bill Hogenson, ended up saving the life of five-month-old Ness Shoup on Sunday, according to KLTV, in Texas.
"We heard one of the babysitters talking on the phone to 911 saying that the baby is purple and not breathing," Bill Hogenson told KLTV. "At first I was in disbelief that did I just hear that. So I started jogging towards her."
Hogenson went to the house and began CPR, however, Shoup wasn't responding. The quick thinking Hogenson grabbed a turkey baster, and cleared her nasal passage and airway.
After using his improvised turkey baster rescue, he "patted her on the back some more, then spun her around and got a good look at her," he said. "And she quit crying and she smiled at me. And I knew that we were going to be in the good."
Shoup's relatives, Robin Shoup and Shawn Gasciogne, said it was fate that Hogenson was working close by, and that he was close enough to save the baby.
"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have this beautiful baby here now, and we are forever grateful," Gasciogne said.
Hogenson wasn't able to sleep the following night, although it wasn't because of anything particularly bad.
"Ever since then, when I see her she gives me a smile," he told the Daily Mail. "It kind of gives us a bond for life."
The relatives said that Shoup's epiglottis hasn't fully developed yet, causing her to choke on her food or saliva sometimes, according to Ludington Daily News.
The epiglottis is the flap of elastic cartilage, covered in mucous membrane, that is attached to the larynx. It guards the opening to the voice box, however, when someone swallows, it folds down directing the food into the esophogus.
KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News