While having lunch at Mini Learners nursery in Radlett, London, two-year-old Sadie Salt started choking on her food. The nursery alerted emergency services and the child was taken to a nearby hospital on Thursday, November 12. Even though medics tried to save the child's life she eventually passed away on Saturday, November 14. Devastated friends of the family have started a petition to urge the local council to ban nurseries from serving food that children might find hard to eat like sausages and grapes.

Emergency services rushed to the nursery in Radlett after reports of a child suffering cardiac arrest. The emergency workers found that Sadie had choked on a piece of sausage that she had been served at the nursery for lunch. The child was taken to Saint Mary's Hospital in London, where she received emergency medical attention.

After the incident, Sadie's condition remained critical. She was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital as medics continued to stabilise her condition. However, even after the continued efforts of the medical team, the child passed away within two days of the unfortunate incident.

Sadie's parents Zoe Salt and Adam Salt started a fundraiser in memory of their youngest child. The fundraiser has raised over £38k for Cosmic, a charity that supports children's and neonatal intensive care units at two London hospitals. Apart from creating the fundraiser, the family including the child's two older brothers thanked the hospital staff for the assistance they offered. They wrote that the family felt supported while coping with the loss of the family member.

Sadie's family also decided to allow the donation of her vital organs after her untimely death.

A friend of the Salt family, Darren Ruback, started a petition to regulate the food given to children at nursery schools. He hopes to urge the council to ban nurseries from serving "awkward" foods like grapes and sausages. He believes that by doing so, nurseries will be ensuring that no other families face the loss of a child.

A spokesperson from the nursery told Borehamwood Times: "We are absolutely devastated by this news and our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to the family."

sausages
A two-year-old choked on a sausage while having lunch at her nursery. (representational image) Flickr via Creative Commons