Aidan Torrie of Old Halkerton Road was re-united with paramedic Craig McDonald and technician Kenny Tasker when he popped along to the Forfar ambulance station with his very relieved mum Vicky.

The happy re-union followed a nightmare for the toddler and his mum when he choked on a whole cherry a fortnight ago.

The youngster and his twin brother Liam had faced an earlier battle for survival when they were born 10- weeks prematurely and spent six weeks in the Special Care Baby Unit at Ninewells Hospital.

However, last month little Aidan faced another personal battle - one which he survived thanks to the expert team work of Craig and Kenny.

Time was of the essence for the ambulance crew after they received a 999 call from Vicky on Monday, July 14.

The call went through at 1.20 p.m. and within three minutes the crew was on the scene and administering a life-saving procedure to remove the cherry from the youngster's throat.

Vicky had followed advice over the telephone from the ambulance service to try to dislodge the cherry.

She had shaken Aidan, had turned him upside down and had tried to carry out the Heimlich manoeuvre, but to no avail.

Lifeless

When the ambulance crew arrived at the scene they found Aidan was lifeless, was not breathing and had turned blue, and Vicky was fearing the worst.

After tying to manually dislodge the cherry Craig used a laryngoscope for a visual and was able to remove the cherry using special forceps.

A tube had to be put into Aidan's windpipe which was removed just as the ambulance drew into the Accident and Emergency unit at Ninewells - a journey which took 17 minutes.

After a night in the high dependency unit, Aidan was discharged and his mum is delighted to say he has made a full recovery.

She expressed her gratitude for the prompt arrival of the ambulance team and their skill in saving her young son's life.

She said: "Aidan had had cherries the previous day but I had de-stoned them. His twin brother Liam got into the kitchen, the cherries were on the worktop and they helped themselves."

After trying unsuccessfully to dislodge the cherry and with her four other children - Shannon (9), Kayleigh (7), Liam (2) and Alysha (one) - in the house, Vicky quickly dialled 999 as Shannon ran down to Vicky's mother's house in Threewells Drive for help.

Worst fears

Vicky spoke of her worst fears and although the ambulance arrived within three minutes, she said it was the longest three minutes of her life.

"I really thought he was away. Aidan was blue, he wasn't breathing. It was terrifying and I just prayed he would come through it.

"I really thought I had lost him. He was born ten weeks premature and I thought I was going to lose him then, but that's another story!

"I can't thank the ambulance service enough for what they have done - they are lifesavers.

"Aidan has made a full recovery and even the next day he was full of beans."

As they met up once again with a rather shy little local hero last Wednesday, Craig and Kenny spoke of the crucial timing when dealing with 999 calls.

Craig said: "Another three or four minutes and it would have been critical.

"Vicky did the right thing calling us.

"Aidan was completely lifeless and although we cleared his airway, he still wasn't breathing."

One thing's for sure, even although her children eat all kinds of fruit, Vicky has promised cherries are now well and truly off the shopping list from now on.

Praising the crew for their skill in dealing with the situation, Ian Golding, head of the ambulance service in Tayside, stated the staff at the Accident and Emergency department at Ninewells had complimented Craig and Kenny for the way in which they handled the situation.

"It is gratifying for us as we invest a lot in training our staff and it is good to see examples of where it pays off."