Grieving dad fights for "ZaZa's Law" after toddler dies in his arms
A grieving father has called for change after his toddler tragically died from choking on a grape.
Brian Bwoga, a 44-year-old dad from Perth was at the beach with his two sons, Alessandro, four, and Zaire (ZaZa) 22 months, at the beginning of the year on what seemed like a normal family day out.
But what was meant to be an idyllic summer’s day soon turned into any parent’s worst nightmare.
“The weather was amazing, the boys were playing and it was just the perfect summer’s day,” Brian, who parents his boys with their mother Claudia, 39, told news.com.au.
“I was gathering up our things ready to go home. My older son Alex came up to me and asked if he could play for just five more minutes. I was carrying ZaZa, and I told them both to go and play together with their friends while I finish packing the car."
“The next minute ZaZa is just running to me, holding his neck and gasping for air."
“I jumped into action and did CPR, I put my fingers inside his throat and got one grape out. I was so relieved, I thought thank god I got it out. But I didn’t know there were four more grapes inside his throat.”
The toddler continued to choke on the grapes, and Brian says his eyes started “popping out”.
The terrified dad began performing abdominal thrusts to try and dislodge the grapes but to no avail.
“I told one of the mothers to call the ambulance. I was terrified,” he recalled.
“My older son was scared and asked me why there was blood coming from ZaZa’s mouth. I told him to go with another parent because I didn’t want him to see this. I was holding ZaZa and he was looking at me. I gave him CPR again and I tried so hard to save him."
“He gave me this look and died in my arms.”
“I left home with a beach bag and left with a body bag. It happened so quick. Within a few minutes he was gone. My son Alex is traumatised. He misses his brother so much and I don’t know how to fix it.”
Grapes are a notorious choking hazard for children under the age of 5, as it is often recommended to always cut up grapes when feeding them to young kids.
Sadly, Zaza consumed the grapes whole, and although the mistake cost his son his life, he doesn't place the blame on anyone.
Instead, he wants to educate the public about the importance of cutting up grapes and is now fighting for change as he hopes to introduce ‘ZaZa’s Law’ to parliament.
This new law would ensure there are choking hazard labels on all grape packets and other food items that could be dangerous for small children.
“I would hate for this to happen to anyone else. But I hear so many stories about kids dying from choking,” he said.
“Ideally, I would like a warning label on all grapes and small foods to warn people to cut them up. Even a big sign at the supermarket for parents."
“Not everyone knows this, but every parent needs to be aware of the dangers of food. I want ZaZa’s Law to come into parliament to get labels on everything."
“We buy toys and they come with warning labels for things like batteries or other choking hazards. Why can’t we do the same for food?”
The dad also hopes that a new anti-choking device, called LifeVac, might be more widely introduced in Australia and placed in public spaces.
“Everywhere you go, shopping centres or beaches, there is a defibrillator on the wall,” he explained.
“That is great, but we also need those anti-choking devices. It sucks everything up like a plunger and has saved so many lives."
“If we had that at the beach that day, ZaZa might still be here.”
Image credits: Courtesy of Brian Bwoga