We had a very scary incident here at our house yesterday and my heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness for God's hedge of protection and faithful leadership!
About 1pm yesterday afternoon a friend had called and so I was chatting with her for a bit and then all of a sudden I heard a horrific gagging/choking sound and gasping for air and turned around to find Nate grabbing his neck and tears streaming down his face. Needless to say, I dropped the phone and went to him and he was having a bit of a hard time breathing and said his chest hurt and that he had swallowed a QUARTER! What??????
I got him calmed down a bit to where he could sit and actually talk to me. I didn't know what to do....would it pass on it's own? Should I take him to ER? If so, which ER? Of course, Steve just happened to be out of town at the moment -- ugh -- what to do? So, I called him and asked whether or not to take him in as he by then had calmed down, but he could feel it in his chest, so I was scared it might flip and cut off the airway or something. I really had no idea, as I'd never experienced anything like it! After talking to Steve, he suggested I call his brother, Mark, who is a nurse anesthesist and see what he'd do. Well, he said if it was his kid, he'd take them in. He and Megan suggested I go to Children's Mercy South as it's the closest pediatric hospital and specializes in Children, obviously, so I take off with Nate and head there. He also suggested I call our doctor and let him know.
I call information, because all I had was my cellphone and of course, I didn't have our doctor's number stored! Duh! Call information and it took them FOREVER to find the right number and then when I called I simply got referred to the Urgent Care Clinic, and was never able to actually talk to a human -- ugh! Ugh!
Then, we finally get to Children's Mercy South only to see a huge sign that says, "NO EMERGENCY SERVICES". You've got to be kidding me! Ugh! No way!!!!!!!! So, we were all ready to head downtown to the 'real' Children's Mercy Hospital, another 30 minutes away, when I called Steve again and he says,
"Ya, know...Overland Park Regional is a lot closer....just go there and let's just trust God that He'll have the right doctor for Nate, even if it's not a children's hospital." So, I said ok and took the off ramp and went to the ER there. I'm thankful for my husband's leadership and that I could trust his decision making when I was emotional and couldn't hardly 'see straight' to make a good decision!
From the moment we walked into the ER I was so grateful for my husband's leadership and ultimately for the leadership of God! They were AWESOME there with both me and with Nate! From the front desk to the triage nurse, the patient nurse, the doctor, the x-ray -- they were all so kind, friendly, compassionate, and I was so impressed. They were very professional and yet very down to earth.
When the doctor walked in, he smiled a cock-eyed smile at Nate and says, 'Ya know -- you are 10 now. I do not expect a 10 yr. old to be swallowing quarters -- by now you should have moved up to plastic GI Joe guys or something a bit bigger, don't ya' think, buddy?"
So, that put Nate (and me) at ease right away! He was serious and professional, but kept things light, which I appreciated, as I was nervous and scared enough as it was and so was Nate, as we had no idea what to expect. I've never had to take my kids to the ER before (thankfully), muchless at a hospital in a new area!
Then, come to find out, the nurse who came in -- we got to talking and she and her husband also met at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa and so she was really, really friendly and kind. She said, "Let me just tell you from a 'Grandma standpoint' -- this happens more often than you'd think. He'll be fine, I'm sure." and she just had such kindness and compassion in her voice. That meant a lot to me.
They x-rayed him and sure enough -- there is a quarter at the lower part of his esophogus! The x-ray tech showed Nate the x-ray and I think he actually felt pretty much like a 'stud' for being able to swallow a quarter and actually see it on the scan! lol So, the doctor came back in and told us that he could see it on the lower end of the esophogus and it hadn't gone into the stomach yet. Then he said said, "Ya' know, I personally feel that this will just pass and feel comfortable sending him home; however, for your sake - let me call Children's Mercy as they're the 'kid professionals' and let's see what they say, ok?"
I really appreciated that!!!
He came back after while and said that they said he could go home as long as he could drink some water no problems. By this time he was MUCH better and said he was only having 'minor spasms' and could still feel it. I hadn't let him have any water because I wasn't sure if that'd be good or bad, so he was thrilled to have some water. He drank it all! Then he said 'it moved!' and he could tell it went down further and he said he felt great and that water was 'like a taste of heaven'! lol
So, the doctor said we have to go either back there or to our doctor on Monday and have another x-ray just to make sure it moved all the way through, but that he thinks he'll be fine. He said it should pass no problems and then he laughs and says, "And, now Mom -- don't go looking for it. It doesn't matter. Either it'll pass just fine or he'll be uncomfortable and you'll find out on Monday at the x-ray that it didn't. But don't feel like you have to search for it 'on the other end'." lol
The other thing -- he's on a liquid/soft diet till Monday. No meat or anything harsh. Till we know for sure that it's passed. They also said he could have ibuprofen/tylenol for discomfort, but that he should be fine.
So...........that was our scare yesterday and I'm so thankful that he is ok. It REALLY scared me to hear him choking and then crying and saying he could feel it. It was so scary to take him to the emergency room as I've never had to do that before .... thankfully! But, my heart was so overwhelmed with thankfulness for my husband's direction, even though he wasn't physically here, and for the faithfulness of our God to meet our ever need. He had the perfect people in place to take care of Nate and I am so grateful!!!
It caused me to be so thankful for my son, too. I mean, I love our boys and am thankful for them, but when you see them struggling to breath and are not sure if they'll pass out or what -- it really causes you to stop a moment and realize the preciousness of every moment you have them in your life. Nate is such a blessing to our family and I cannot imagine if something awful would have happened. Last night as we snuggled before bed, I told him not only how much I loved him, but WHY I loved him - specific details about his life that I was reviewing in the hospital in my mind as to why I love him and what about him I'm so thankful for. It was a precious time together. :) I don't want to take our boys for granted -- after reading about Steven Curtis Chapman losing his daughter, and now this incident, it's caused me to take a step back and cherish each moment we have with them!
**The only 'negative' beyond the situation is that I missed my NBC Gymnastics show today! I was so looking forward to watching the Women's Gymnastics Nationals. I love watching gymnastics, and they're only on like 1x per year, if that, so I was thrilled to know they were on today, and wouldn't ya' know -- I'd be in the emergency room instead! Bummer! But, as I told Nate -- he's MUCH more important than gymnastics! :)
2 comments:
Not fair! You have boys and have NEVER done the ER before? I have girls and we've been there 3 times! No, 4 (I forgot about the bean up G's nose for a moment!)
Have you at least had to call poison control??
I'm glad to hear that everything should be fine in the end. ;)
Oh, wow, Debi!! I'm so glad he's okay. We've been to the ER so many times for our big three. It IS scary. (((HUGS))) Please tell Nate we are very thankful God took care of him!!
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