Mike & Lauren Sorrentino Share Video Of How They Saved 2-Year-Old From Choking On Pasta

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and his wife Lauren experienced one of the “scariest” moments of their lives during a recent family dinner. On Instagram, The Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star shared Ring camera footage that captured the frightening moment when their 2-year-old son Romeo started choking on a piece of gnocchi and how the parents calmly sprung into action.

“THE SCARIEST MOMENT OF OUR LIVES ‼️,” Sorrentino captured the video on Instagram. “It was an ordinary dinner at the Situations when suddenly without notice Romeo started choking on his favorite pasta pesto gnocchi !!” The dad of two noted that Romeo “hunched over and wasn’t breathing.”

In the Ring camera footage, Lauren is seen in the kitchen while the rest of the family is seated at a table. As Romeo starts to cough, Sorrentino quickly stands up and begins to pat his son’s back. Sorrentino gets Romeo out of his chair and stands him upright as Lauren goes to retrieve an anti-choking device (Sorrentino clarified in an Instagram comment that they used a DeChoker) to dislodge the pasta.

“It’s OK. As long as he’s making noise, he’s not choking,” Lauren can be heard saying in the video. The mom of two, who is currently pregnant with the couple’s third child, successfully dislodges the food from Romeo’s throat with the device as Sorrentino comforted his son. “It’s OK, you just got a piece of gnocchi stuck in your throat,” Lauren says as she hugs her son.

“I am so proud of how my wife and I didn’t panic, didn’t hesitate and eventually dislodged the food which was blocking airway and saved his life,” the reality star wrote on Instagram. “I love my family with all my heart and am so grateful things worked out.” Sorrentino added that he and Lauren, who are also parents to daughter Mia Bella, are “now taking CPR lessons and Romeo won’t be having gnocchi anytime soon.”

Sorrentino’s followers were amazed by how calm they both were during the scary ordeal. “Wow the way Lauren was so calm!! I would have been the opposite. That’s a good wife right there!!” one fan commented. “The calmness is top notch. Had you become upset it would’ve upset him further. Fabulous job!” another said. “The way Lauren stayed so calm and collected thoughhhhh, great job parents!” one more chimed in.

Children under the age of 4, like Romeo, are most at risk for choking on certain foods and other small objects, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Because choking is a leading cause of injury and death among young children, doctors recommend that parents get trained in CPR, first aid, and the Heimlich maneuver.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Sorrentino said it was a “very scary close call” and he is still reeling from the incident. “To be honest with you, I’ve tingles right now talking about it because everything was kind of textbook and we didn’t even know it,” he said.

“I knew I didn’t want to hit him too hard when he was upright because I thought maybe that could maybe lodge the food even further,” Sorrentino told Good Morning America. “So that’s why I had got him upright and ready for when my wife had gotten the anti-choking device.” The dad of two said that he and Lauren “worked in synergy as a team” to save their son. “I couldn’t be prouder of my wife,” he added. “I’m gonna break down. But she’s a superhero.”