A grateful mum has thanked the nurses who saved her two-year-old daughter’s life.

Two-year-old Zoe Lee-Kostic nearly choked to death on a piece of mango on June 8.

But the quick actions of medical professionals kept her alive after she was rushed unconscious to the children’s emergency department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Woolwich.

Zoe’s mother, Michelle Kostic from Blackheath, got her chance last Friday to thank nurses Amanda Boggust, Jo Gardner and Casey Davis, who were all on duty at the time of the terrifying incident.

Ms Kostic said: “All I can remember is screaming in absolute fear and terror when my neighbour called to tell me what had happened to Zoe.”

“When I arrived and saw her, I couldn’t stop crying and shaking. But the staff in the emergency department were fantastic. They informed me what they were doing and how Zoe was responding.”

Little Zoe was being looked after by her nanny when she choked on the piece of fruit.

Zoe’s father Adam Lee and her mother were both at work and the nanny did her best to remove the mango but within minutes Zoe had stopped breathing.

A neighbour performed CPR on Zoe before an ambulance arrived. Paramedics fished out most of the mango and got Zoe’s heart beating but she still wasn’t breathing.

Zoe was taken to the resuscitation room at QEH, where nurses and doctors got her breathing again. Fifteen minutes later Zoe regained consciousness.

Nurse Amanda Boggust said: ‘Obviously Zoe was very scared when she regained consciousness, so we comforted her by telling her stories about her favourite cartoon character, Peppa Pig.”

Zoe’s parents were rushed to the hospital by police and were reassured by staff.

Zoe was still finding it hard to breathe and so the intensive care team put her to sleep and inserted a flexible tube into her windpipe to keep her airways open.

Doctors decided to move her to Evelina Children’s Hospital so she could undergo a procedure to search her lungs for any remnants of mango.

No fruit was found and after three days in intensive care Zoe could go home.

Ms Kostic brought Zoe to the hospital on Friday to meet the people who saved her. Ms Kostic said: “Zoe is doing really well now.

“I have such respect for the staff in the emergency department at QEH. We really can’t thank the nurses enough for saving Zoe’s life.”

Nurse Amanda Boggust said: “It was very emotional for everyone when Michelle brought Zoe in to see us. It was wonderful to see Zoe smiling and happy, and very humbling and gratifying for us to know that we made a difference.”