Emotional Night

Last night I gave Brinley a whole apple to keep her busy while I was making dinner. She's eaten whole apples before and never had a problem so I didn't think much of it. A few minutes later I heard her coughing and gagging. She'd swallowed more than she could handle so I picked her up and started pounding her back to get it out. She gagged up a pool of drool and started crying so I thought she was okay. Crying means breathing, breathing means fine, I thought.

When Taber got home 30 minutes later she was still acting like she was in pain and was drooling excessively. Nothing we could do would make her smile and she kept coughing and crying. Taber suggested calling the nurse hotline so I gave them a call and explained what was going on. That's when things got emotional. The nurse said I needed to call 911 or take her to an ER immediately. I hesistated at first and the nurse got upset and said, "what are you going to do? are you going to call 911 or go to the ER?" I told her I didn't think we needed an ambulance and she got frustrated and said, "well I'm a registered nurse and my professional opinion is that you need to call 911." I told her I'd take Brinley to the ER and hung up and started throwing things together to leave. We don't have a hospital in Maple Grove so in my panic I just took her to the Urgent care. She must've looked pretty pathetic because they didn't even make me fill out paper work, they brought her straight back and the Dr. came in right away. After a brief exam he said she had an esophogial obstruction, blocking her ability to swallow (which is why she was drooling so much) and that he was sending us to the Minneapolis Children's hospital. He was worried the apple could move and be apsirated so he called an ambulance to take us there.

I've never been in an ambulance before but I actually thought it was very comforting because I knew if anything happened on our 30 minute drive to the hosptial that we had all the help we needed to deal with it. We got to the ER and they put a little hosptial gown on Brinley. within 5 minutes it was drenched with drool. The Dr. came in and saw her and quickly decided this was serious enough to book an OR. They called a gastrointestinal pediatrician and started prepping Brinley for surgery. The nurses came in to start an IV and that was the toughest part for me. Brinely has such thick little rolls on her arms and tiny veins that it was very hard for them to get it in. They poked her 3 times, blowing 3 veins before the anesthegiologist came in and said the OR was ready and they would do it themselves.

We went back to the Surgery prep room and listened to the nurse, the Dr, and the anestigioligst tell us what was going to happen. They were going to give her laughing gas to calm her down then put in the IV to put her under. Once she was out they were going to go in with a scope that has a video camera on it to find the apple and then pinch it out with some grabbers. We signed some papers and then they took her out of Taber's arms and whisked her away. She cried when they took her and I cried watching her go. A few hours earlier when I gave her that apple I didn't think our night would end up like this. Thankfully Taber was there to comfort me. Together we went to the waiting room to wait it out.

20 minutes later it was over. The surgery was a success! They found the apple, got it out, and everything was going to be okay. The relief I felt was indescribable. All night I was crushed by guilt for giving her that apple. Knowing that she was okay was like the weight of the world being lifted from my shoulders. When she woke up we went back to see her and she looked wonderful. Such a difference from her miserable state before the procedure. After monitoring her for 30 minutes we were able to take her home. We got in around midnight, picked up Teya from our sweet neighbors who were watching her, and got the fam all settled in bed around 1.

This morning Brinley is completely herself and doing better than ever. It was a very emotional night but a good reminder for me that all those strict guidelines about foods to avoid for small children are out there for a reason. For now we'll be sticking with applesauce.