Student who choked on pancakes at contest died of asphyxia

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Student who choked on pancakes at contest died of asphyxia
Updated 3:35 pm, Wednesday, April 5, 2017


HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A medical examiner has ruled that a Connecticut college student who choked on pancakes during an eating contest on campus died of accidental asphyxia.

The New York City chief medical examiner's office released autopsy results Wednesday for Caitlin Nelson, a 20-year-old from Clark, New Jersey, who attended Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. The official cause of death was "asphyxia due to obstruction of airway by bolus of food."

 
Nelson died at a hospital in New York on Sunday, three days after collapsing during a pancake-eating contest. Nursing students and first-responders performed lifesaving measures at the scene, and she was transported to a hospital in critical condition.

Her father, James, was a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer who died on 9/11 when Caitlin was 5.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Medical-examiner-Asphyxia-killed-student-in-11053005.php

[saidsimplesimon]

1. Thank you Judi

I detest eating, gorging, Roman displays of gluttony reminiscent of gladiator games.

[Lucky Luciano]

5. Not the best response regarding the death of 20 year old

who had much to live for following a freak accident.

[saidsimplesimon]

6. I disagree Lucky

It is not a freak accident, it was an "eating" contest.

[Lucky Luciano]

8. You are very troubled and cruel. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

13. Why is she troubled and cruel?

Eating contests are dangerous. I'm surprised any college would support such an event.

[Lucky Luciano]

18. Ok I guess nobody gives a shit that a family is devastated. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. I don't know where you got that idea. But whatever.

I will note, you've done nothing in this thread but go after other duers. So practice what you preach, I guess.

[jberryhill]

28. And it would be fitting for other families to avoid the same thing

There is a reason that the Guinness Book of World Records discontinued the X number of whatevers consumed in one sitting categories.

These types of things are dangerous and regularly cause these sorts of tragedies.

It would be good for more people to know that.

[CBHagman]

39. Apparently it was a charity event.

According to reports, this wasn't just an eating contest but meant to raise money for charity.

[url]http://news.hamlethub.com/wilton/neighbors/46794-sacred-heart-university-mourns-loss-celebrates-life-of-caitlin-nelson[/url]

And the young woman who died was studying (and working) to make this a better world. Her death is to be mourned, not mocked.

[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/04/03/university-mourns-sorority-sister-who-died-after-pancake-eating-contest/?utm_term=.f25a6ff8c9a7[/url]

According to a LinkedIn profile, Nelson was studying social work at Sacred Heart and volunteered at the Resiliency Center in Newtown, Conn., a nonprofit helping people affected by the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

[LanternWaste]

41. No doubt, we'll see your most sincere concern on many "Darwin Award" threads.

No doubt, we'll see your most sincere concern on many "Darwin Award" threads. We look forward to it...

[retrowire]

2. Isn't this a redundant headline?

"Student who choked on pancakes at contest died of asphyxia"

Asphyxia. That's just the technical term for choking right?

[canetoad]

3. Not really

It's the term for the body being denied oxygen, which could happen in a number of different ways of which choking is one.

[retrowire]

4. Aah ok that makes sense then. nt

[WinkyDink]

24. In this case, it's choking. From a lump of pancake, to be exact.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

20. I've heard of people dying of heart attacks during eating contests.

But I think those are mostly, if not all, quantity contests.

Ripley's (edit Guinnes) stopped awarding "quantity" versus "speed" awards for that reason (and other quantity caused illnesses).

Years ago, a guy I worked with won a $1000 plus dollars on a bet to eat 5 double whoppers with cheese. I seriously thought he was going to die.

[PatSeg]

7. I never understood eating contests

How sad for a life to end so young over a contest. Her family must be devastated.

[mopinko]

9. nobody at an eating contest knew the heimlich maneuver?

wtf? basic public safety.

[forgotmylogin]

10. They played a bit of the 911 call on NPR

And the operator said she was ready to talk them through the Heimlich maneuver.

So it may have been applied, but not soon enough.

That would explain that she died from asphyxia (brain damage from being deprived of oxygen, usually for more than four minutes) instead of choking. She may have eventually gotten air, but far too late to prevent her death.

[NutmegYankee]

11. They did, it didn't work. Her entire mouth was full of pancakes.

Heimlich works on the concept that you can force a small chunk of food out of the throat. She had her mouth stuffed with pancakes.

http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/22597-cop-opens-up-about-desperate-attempts-to-save-college-student-who-died-after-pancake-eating

[Quackers]

12. I was in aww at the report that the nursing student who

Was doing CPR didn't clear/attempt to clear her airway. The responding ambulance had to empty food out of her mouth.

[mopinko]

15. yeah if it were me, i would have had

my fingers down her throat. they didnt even clear her MOUTH? wtf.

hope they had some good insurance.

[Ilsa]

30. Insurance? Who? The student can't be sued I bet because

of Good Samaritan laws. The student was not obligated to do anything.

The college may have a problem, though.

[mopinko]

32. yeah, i meant the event organizers.

[WinkyDink]

25. Not so effective with soft matter, I don't think.

[csziggy]

34. Heimlich does not always work

A friend of mine choked on a piece of steak. More than one person attempted the Heimlich maneuver with no success, even though the second person was an EMT who happened to be in the restaurant. My friend was brain dead by the time she arrived at the hospital and died as soon as support machinery was disconnected.

[lamp_shade]

14. Many years ago a co-worker lost her 5-yr-old son similarly...

It was a marshmallow eating contest at a YMCA day care center. The child was being weaned off ritalin at the time. CPR by trained personnel just didn't work. I'll never forget it.

[LeftInTX]

21. Subjecting 5 year olds to an eating contest....good gosh

WTF

[retrowire]

22. daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

Just daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

[Ilsa]

31. Kids need to be taught not to stuff their mouths, especially with marshmallows.

When they have difficulty swallowing, they tend to get water, and that makes the marshmallows swell up worse.

[Kaleva]

33. Hot dogs are the #1 cause of food related chocking deaths for those under 3

I babysit grandkids much of the week and on those days when a hot dog is on the menu for lunch, I'll cut the hot dog into small pieces before I give it to them and I only give a couple of pieces at a time. I do the same for chicken, meat, toast, apple, banana, grapes and other firmer foods.

[spiderpig]

16. This was a university-sponsored event?

Maybe this will help put an end to this pointless fad.

[oldcynic]

17. is an eating contest supposed to be fun?

I simply do not understand why forcing food into your body could be considered entertaining or impressive. It doesn't show a single significant attribute. Strength..no. Intelligence...no. grace..no way, no how. Skill..an amoeba can do better. Interesting that it's mostly done by males. Does it somehow prove one man's prick is bigger than another? I'm surprised this poor contestant was a girl. What was she trying to prove?
Consider the suffragettes and other prisoners who are and were force fed. It is considered torture.

[sdfernando]

26. I remember years ago hearing about

A radio station contest to drink as much water as you could in a. Specified time. A young lady died from that as well. Too much water in your body and you can die as well.

Sad for these young girls!

[WinkyDink]

23. AKA, choking to death.

[Jonny Appleseed]

27. Darwin award is hotly contested this year

[HoneyBadger]

29. A contest where people literally eat themselves to death

In an extremely wealthy area. Makes you wonder what the people who are starving to death think of such things.

[True_Blue]

35. How awful!

A few years back a girl died in a water drinking contest held by a radio station. The contestants had to drink a lot of water and whoever lasted the longest without using the restroom won. The contest was for a WII game system and it was called 'hold your wee for a WII'. A girl that had been in contest died later that day because she drank so much water that she had flushed all the electrolytes out of her system. I didn't know that someone could die from drinking too much water until that happened.

Maybe the people that have these kind of contests should consult physicians first to make sure it's safe and also have a medical staff available just in case something goes wrong.

[CBHagman]

37. I'd like to see them end altogether.

I'm all for raising money for charity but not at risk to human lives or health.

[CBHagman]

36. Reactions here are disappointing but not unexpected.

I don't believe in eating contests either, but I was dreading reading the self-righteous or snotty responses, and there they all are in cyberspace, by people who in most cases are using pseudonyms and therefore bear no consequences.

A family, a circle of friends, and an entire community mourn the death of a 20-year-old, and it doesn't prove anyone's progressive bona fides to give vent to the snark or superiority tendencies.

[Tanuki]

40. The story is even sadder in that her dad was a Port Authority police officer

who died in the September 11 attack. So much heartbreak for one family and their friends.

[Mosby]

38. there was another eating contest death about a day later

47 year old man in a hot dog eating contest died.