Joy-Anna Duggar lived out nearly every parent’s nightmare a few days ago.
As part of her weekly YouTube update with fans on Friday, Joy-Anna detailed an incident that happened with her very young son Gunner, who was born on May 17, 2023.
The former reality star began the tragic tale by revealing that she was feeding Gunner some of her dinner when he began choking on a piece of ham.
“I was so physically exhausted that emotionally I was just exhausted. I was crying at this point and [I was] “I hit him on the back,” Duggar said of his initial reaction.
Thankfully, Joy-Anna’s husband, Austin, is a trained EMT.
“I handed Gunner over to Austin and I started crying,” Duggar added.
“All these ‘what if’ questions immediately pop into your head. [Gunner] vomited several times [and] Ham still hadn’t spit up and was gagging and couldn’t breathe for about 20 seconds. After that, he was able to take a few light breaths, but was still struggling and lethargic.”
Duggar, who is frequently violating her father’s rules these days, revealed that she and Austin decided to take their baby to the hospital.
It was really scary to drive up there.
“There were a few points during the drive that he stopped breathing and I was crying to God saying, ‘Please save him,’ and I was never to the point where I thought I was going to lose one of my babies,” Joy-Anna said on YouTube.
“It felt like he was going to die and that thought went through my mind and it was scary.”
We really can’t imagine.
The last several months have been challenging for Joy-Anna Duggar.
In April, Duggar delved into the effects of postpartum depression after giving birth to Gunner last year.
“I’m really struggling and I’ve never had to struggle like this,” she told YouTube subscribers at the time, adding:
“I want you guys to know that my life isn’t always organized and my days aren’t always perfect. It’s not always easy.”
In this new video, Joy-Anna had tears streaming down her face as she told her scary story.
At the hospital, Gunner’s breathing eventually returned to normal.
The doctor decided to do an X-ray, which came out negative, and now the one-year-old is doing fine.
“I’m so thankful that God protected him and we got to the hospital and whatever was in his throat wasn’t bothering him anymore,” Duggar said.
Amen to all of this.
Joy-Anna also said, “That day was so crazy and a roller coaster of emotions.” “After something like that happens, I think you really, really want to be more aware of your past and future.” [need to] Hug your kids a little tighter.”