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The heartbroken family of a five-year-old girl who tragically choked on a snack during a car ride has been targeted by cruel trolls.
Imogen Lennon, from Canowindra in mid-west New South Wales, died on January 16 when she choked in a Frankfurt deli while chatting with her mother on the way home from swimming lesson.
Family friend Tamara Harrison told Daily Mail Australia she has been bombarded with “nasty” emails ever since she launched an online site. fundraiser to help Imogen’s parents, Samantha and Bill Lennon, pay for funeral expenses.
The five-year-old girl, from Canowindra, in mid-west New South Wales, died on January 16 after choking in a Frankfurt deli while chatting with her mother on the way home from swimming lesson.
Harrison said strangers messaged her and posted comments online saying the family did not deserve to have money raised in their name and should not have done enough to save Imogen’s life.
But Ms Harrison said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Imogen was sitting in the back of the car and she took a big breath while eating and started to choke,” Ms Harrison said.
5-year-old Imogen Lennon tragically died after choking in a Frankfurt deli on January 16.
Some strangers said online that Imogen’s parents should have known first aid, even though Ms Lennon was trained and applied all the skills she had learned.
‘Sam stopped immediately. She is a first aid officer, her sister is also a nurse. She knew what to do in that situation. She did everything she could.
Imogen even bit her hand as she tried to get the sausage out of her throat.
He GoFundMe so far it has raised over $28,000.
Despite the cruel taunts, Ms Harrison said her “strong and brave” friend knew she did everything she could to save Imogen, who was due to start kindergarten this week.
Just seven days before her death, the ‘loud and energetic’ girl, who lived with a hearing impairment, was fitted with her first hearing aid.
It was the first time he had heard his own voice.
“She put it on and said, ‘Is that my voice, Mom?'” Ms Harrison recalled.
‘And her mother said, ‘Yes, yes it is.’
Instead of preparing for her first year of school, Imogen’s devastated family was faced with the daunting task of laying her down at the local church on Saturday.
His older brothers Bailey and Hayden held hands and were comforted by friends as they said their final goodbyes.
Harrison said it was devastating to see the five-year-old’s small white coffin festooned with pink flowers and cowgirl boots loaded into the back of a hearse.
“Imogen was meant to start kindergarten this year,” she said.
Tamara Harrison (left) and Bec Haddow (right) comfort Samantha Lennon at Imogen’s funeral
Imogen was seen off by loved ones at St Edward’s Catholic Church (pictured) on Saturday
Imogen’s older brothers Bailey (left) and Hayden (right) comforted each other at their sister’s funeral.
‘She never got to live her life.
‘Something like this shouldn’t have happened.’
Ms Harrison is now working alongside the Lennons to establish a foundation in Imogen’s honor to ensure that no one else feels the pain they are experiencing.
Ms Harrison, a nurse who works with children, said she was surprised to recently learn of an American-made airway-clearing device, called the LifeVac, which is available for sale in Australia.
She said she and other colleagues who have completed first aid training had never heard of the device, which has been approved by the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, despite its potential life-saving benefits.
As part of the foundation, Ms. Harrison and the Lennons seek to raise awareness of LifeVac, make it available to the public, and increase education about choking hazards for both parents and children.
The LifeVac is a portable suction device that features a mask attached to a plunge-style lever.
In an emergency, the plunger is pushed into the victim’s face and then pulled up to create a vacuum effect to dislodge anything blocking the airway.
Her coffin was adorned with pink flowers, cowboy boots, a pink “Ringers Western” snapback cap, and images of butterflies and unicorns.
The service brochure was filled with photos of Imogen and her loved ones together in happier times.
According to statistics released by LifeVac on Tuesday, the medical device has so far saved 657 lives, including 395 children, since its launch in 2012.
Ms Harrison said that the implementation of the medical device in first aid kits was crucial, as was the need for parents to reinforce the importance of chewing food for children.
Ms. Harrison said she recently learned about the LifeVac (pictured), a US-made device used to clear the airway.
The Lennons, whom Ms Harrison described as “kindhearted” dairy farmers, told her that if they can save just one person from the same fate as their daughter, they will have made the world a better place.
The family received a few donation offers from members of their tight-knit community to help launch the foundation, but Ms Harrison said they were looking for more sponsorship.
As the family learns to live without their little girl, Ms Harrison said they have already made plans for what would have been Imogen’s sixth birthday.
“For her birthday this year, Imogen wanted to go bowling,” she said.
“So, on May 24, that’s what everyone will be doing.”
The LifeVac works by creating a vacuum to remove blockages from the airway.