Mom of 4 Reveals How Choking on Dinner Party Steak Left Her in the ICU with 9 Cracked Ribs and a Broken Sternum  

A mother and business founder is sharing details of a frightening medical emergency after she choked on a piece of steak during a dinner party in Australia.

Carolyn Creswell — founder of the Australian food brand Carman’s — marked one year since the incident with an Instagram post featuring photos from her hospital stay.

“A long overdue post… but it’s a goodie!” Creswell, 52, wrote in the caption. She said the incident happened when friends were over for dinner at her farm in Gippsland, in southeastern Australia, and she began choking on a piece of steak.

Creswell said her husband, Pete, tried to dislodge the food, but she lost consciousness and hit her head. She added that Pete and their friends then performed CPR for about 30 minutes.

According to Creswell, guests stayed on the line with emergency services until multiple ambulances arrived. First responders were eventually able to remove the lodged food using long forceps, after which she was taken to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

She said she spent a week in intensive care and the trauma unit, recovering from a concussion and a stitched head wound, along with nine broken ribs and a broken sternum caused by CPR.

Creswell credited Pete’s lifesaving training — previously practiced only on mannequins — and thanked the medical team and the emergency dispatcher who helped guide those at the scene. She also expressed gratitude for Australia’s medical care, calling herself lucky to have received such support.

She went on to thank a friend, Doone Colless, for arriving quickly at the hospital when staff said they might need to shave Creswell’s hair, as well as colleagues at Carman’s who stepped in while she recovered.

“Eternally grateful every day for a 100% recovery,” Creswell wrote. She added that she was told in the hospital that steak is a common culprit in choking incidents and urged people to chew carefully. She also joked that beef was offered frequently during her hospital meals, but it’s no longer her first choice.

Creswell’s post included photos of her meals in the hospital, an image from the rescue scene, and snapshots from her recovery.

Creswell founded Carman’s at 18 while she was a first-year university student in 1992, according to the company’s website. She bought the small muesli business where she worked part-time for $1,000 AUD (around $670 USD). The brand’s gourmet range has since expanded internationally.

“It’s amazing where life can lead you,” Creswell said, per the Carman’s website.