Boy, 8, 'turned purple' after swallowing £2 coin in freak accident during game with aunt

A mum has praised the heroic efforts of air ambulance paramedics who saved her son's life after he accidentally swallowed a £2 coin.

Nicolle Chapman said that without the crew coming to the rescue, her eight-year-old son Riley might not have survived. The incident occurred during a visit to his grandmother's house in Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire, where Riley's aunt was teaching him to toss coins.

Unfortunately, one went into his mouth and slid down his windpipe. Riley turned purple and struggled to breathe after swallowing the coin in shock instead of spitting it out. She told the the Daily Record: "I thought I was going to lose my little boy I've never been so scared in all my life"

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"We used the Heimlich manoeuvre on him and he said he had swallowed it completely and asked for a drink. I knew Riley would never pass something as large as a £2 coin so I called my GP for advice. But while I was on the phone, the poor wee soul was sick and brought up the coin to lodge in his throat again".

The doctor told Nicolle to dial 999 immediately. Paramedics arrived in an ambulance within minutes and told Nicolle the only option to get Riley to hospital as quickly as possible was by air ambulance.

She said: "It would have taken nearly an hour to get there by road. I knew by then things were really serious and Riley was in real danger of suffocating if the coin moved again. We heard the helicopter coming in to land outside the house just as another SCAA paramedic arrived in a Rapid Response Vehicle. There's something so reassuring about these air ambulance paramedics in red suits who are so professional, comforting and efficient. SCAA's team was absolutely amazing. They took over Riley's care and made sure that I was OK too."

With the coin lodged in Riley's throat at a 45-degree angle, allowing just enough space to get a little air through, any movement could have shifted it to completely choke him. During the 10-minute flight to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary last summer, gag reflexes caused Riley to be sick several times, vomiting blood.

But the professionalism of the crew helped keep Riley and Nicolle calm. "I was in total awe of the paramedics", the mum-of-three said. "They never let up in their care and commitment to Riley – keeping him as still as possible, keeping him calm and monitoring him every step of the way. I trusted them with my little boy – his life was in their hands."

After arriving at hospital, Riley was taken to theatre where surgeons were able to anaesthetise him and slip a clamp down his throat and successfully capture the coin. He was allowed to leave hospital a couple of hours later – "two pounds lighter", as the family now joke.

The next day, Nicolle and Riley's dad Gary took the children to drop off piles of chocolate and goodies for the Helimed 79 team at Aberdeen. Thanking the team from Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance, she said: "It was extremely emotional to meet up with them and try to thank them for what they had done. The previous day could have ended so differently, and Gary and I could have faced life with two children instead of three."

"Without SCAA and the helicopter crew that day we could have lost Riley. A road ambulance journey on bumpy roads could have spelled disaster and that doesn't bear thinking about. SCAA is so vital where remote and rural communities face long journeys to hospital care. I know many others owe their life to the speed and expertise of SCAA and I'm happy to join that group – they're our heroes!"