911

I've never had to call 911.  Today that changed.  It was very scary.  Everything is okay, so that's a huge relief.

I was taking a shower around 8:40 am this morning.  I was trying to hurry a little since I knew the kids were a tired and would be going down for a nap soon.  I also wanted to get ready for the day before my hair appointment at 12:30.

In the middle of my shower I hear a loud bang and then a baby crying.  I figure it was Charlotte or Cooper being clumsy and Chris would be comforting them until they were okay.  Then Chris barges into the bathroom holding Cooper who has a very red face and is crying and gagging.  I look at Chris to see the panic in his face and he says, "Salina, Cooper swallowed something and I can't get it out and he can't breathe."  My heart jumped in my throat.

I do a quick finger sweep (although I know that can be equally dangerous if I push it further) but don't feel anything obvious in his mouth.  I told Christopher that we needed to call 911 and I would get out of the shower.  

By that time Charlotte had crawled in the bathroom to check out the toilet.  Cooper was still gagging, but coughing so I knew he was getting some air.  Chris starts to try to get Charlotte out of the bathroom and I sternly tell him to leave her I'll take care of it and to go call 911.

He leaves the bathroom I jump out throw some clothes on and as I am getting dressed Chris comes back in and says that Cooper vomited blood all over him.  I tell him "CALL 911 RIGHT NOW" and take Cooper from him.  I could feel the panic rising in me and I could see that was having problems staying calm and thinking clearly. 

I got both kids out of the bathroom.  Cooper seemed to calm down a little bit in my arms and he was gulping a little for air, but he wasn't coughing any more.  Chris was on the phone with 911 to give him the short details about what happened and our address.

It was about 9 am when Chris called and the paramedics arrived within about 5 min.  There were four of them who came in the house.  Chris was trying to feed Charlotte breakfast and both kids just stared with big wide eyes.  We had to lock the dog away so they could check out Cooper.

The paramedic gave him a cute little Fire Department doggy and then put a monitor strip on his toe to record his pulse.  He checked his lungs and his mouth and said that he isn't showing any symptoms of the object being in his lungs. 

 

He asked if he seemed alright to us.  I told him that he seemed a little tired, but it was close to nap time and that he seemed very laid back especially with all the new people.  Usually he would be a little hysterical with so many new faces.  The paramedics decided because he was being a little unusual that we should go to the hospital to have x-rays.

I grabbed my purse (but forgot to put my glasses on) and carried Cooper to the ambulance by 9:15.  Chris and Charlotte planned to follow behind once he was done feeding Charlotte breakfast.  We got in the ambulance and they had a baby carrier that we put Cooper in.  Once we were driving I told them that he had outgrown the carriers because of his height.  They agreed and said they should have asked us to grab our car seat instead.  I didn't know this, but it's not standard for ambulances to even put babies in car seats!!!  They just seatbelt the mom down and make her hold the baby?!!?  I couldn't believe it!!  I'm glad our paramedics had insisted on having a car seat on their ambulance.

Cooper slept almost the entire ride to the hospital.  We went to Hoag hospital where Cooper was born.  Although it's at least an extra 10 minutes away, we felt the most comfortable with it because we know what to expect service wise and just how to navigate the hospital.  I called to let Chris know we were in the emergency area, room 50 and to just let the desk know and they would direct him to us.  He arrived about 10 minutes after we did (no he didn't speed, but the ambulance didn't turn on it's lights either).

The paramedics got the info they needed (I was surprised I've memorized Cooper's SSN so quickly) and then left.  They gave Cooper an ID bracelet and also gave me one.   The doctor checked Cooper out and wasn't even sure he had swallowed anything.  We said were were sure of it.  While we waited, I cancelled my hair appointment and rescheduled for 3:00 pm

 

(Cooper with daddy, eating the wipes package, waiting for the second x-ray.)

We did one set of x-rays, which came back inconclusive.  We did a second set and the doctor said nothing is showing up and he appears to be asymptomatic.  He said that it could be that he swallowed something but it went to his stomach and the x-rays can't see it (like something plastic, paper or food).  In that case it's likely not bigger than a nickle and that he would pass it in a day or two.  In a rare situation he may have aspirated it and the x-rays aren't picking it up.  He said to look out for a fever and/or breathing problems and to call his pediatrician at the first sign.  We finally left at 1 pm!

So it was an exhausting day and a very scary morning.  Although I am certified in CPR and first aid, I am not trained in infant or child CPR.  Chris is not trained in any of it.  We also haven't thought through emergency plans for first aid problems, fire or earthquake.  This situation was so real and so scary, we will be working on that stuff immediately.  I will also be checking into getting certified (for both of us) for infant and child CPR.

Chris has been blaming himself.  I explained to him that it was an accident and we responded appropriately and Cooper is just fine as a result.  I told him that with Cooper's intense curiosity and with no fear to stop him, this probably won't be the last trip to the ER. 

Cooper did really well all afternoon.  He was back to his normal smiling, giggling self.  He was a little more cuddly and wanted to sit with me most of the afternoon and evening, but he didn't have any breathing problems or coughing episodes.  We watched both kids like a hawk for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

I was able to make it to my hair appointment.

Before:

After (right before bed...): 

Oh, and Happy New Year!!