Joy-Anna Duggar had to take 13-month-old son Gunner to the hospital after a ‘ham’ incident

Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth experienced a harrowing moment recently when their 13-month-old son, Gunner, had to be rushed to the hospital due to a choking incident. The couple shared the details of the event on their YouTube channel on June 14.

While at a youth camp, Joy-Anna was feeding Gunner some ham when he bit off more than he could chew and started choking. "I was just feeding him a little bit off my plate, and I had a piece of ham, like Thanksgiving ham, and I was letting him chew on it and take a bite off of it, and he bit off more than he could chew and immediately started choking," she explained.

Panicked, Joy-Anna tried to help Gunner spit out the food but ended up handing him to her husband Austin, who is an EMT. "I started crying 'cause I'm just like Lord, please protect him, like all of those what-ifs come to your mind right away," she said. Despite their efforts, Gunner continued to struggle and wasn't breathing for about 20 seconds.

The couple decided to rush to the hospital as Gunner's condition worsened. "I was just crying out to God like, please save him, and I've never been to a point where, like, I thought I was going to lose one of my kids," Joy-Anna recounted. 

During the drive, Gunner's breathing remained erratic, and at times, he stopped breathing entirely.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Gunner had started to breathe better after falling asleep. 

Doctors conducted tests, including an X-ray, which fortunately came back clear. Joy-Anna expressed her immense relief and gratitude, saying, "I was just so thankful that God protected him, and we made it to the hospital, and that whatever was in his throat wasn't bothering him anymore."

The incident occurred just a month after Gunner's first birthday, which Joy-Anna celebrated with heartfelt posts on Instagram. The couple, who are also parents to Gideon, 6, and Evelyn, 3, are thankful that Gunner is now safe and healthy.