Penny Wise Pound Foolish...

We had quite the scare this weekend. Saturday morning started off very relaxing and was then abruptly interrupted with Jack screaming in a very panicky cry. He came running out of his room during his rest time, and Charles and I clearly knew something was seriously wrong. He quickly told us that he had swallowed a pound coin.

Now any experienced parent knows that you first want to scream 'you did what?', but due to the panicky nature of it we knew that question would have to be asked later. He was clearly in pain and yelling. Charles ran upstairs to put on jeans and a sweatshirt (he was still in his running clothes) as I tried to console Jack. He kept saying that he thought he could throw it up so I encouraged him to try. He would try to vomit and then start screaming again. I joined in on the panic when I saw blood coming out of his mouth. I shouted to Charles to hurry and dialled 999 (the equivalent of 911). After talking to the operator we both agreed that he needed to get to the hospital and that driving him there ourselves would be faster than having an ambulance come get him. So Charles and Jack took off for the hospital with Jack still very upset.

Charles called 25 minutes later and said that they had been taken care of brilliantly and that the x-ray showed that the pound coin (the one he got for losing his first tooth) was stuck in the top of his esophagus. They wanted to give it 30 more minutes to ensure that it would not move into the stomach (which is really the best thing). They were doubtful that it would given that it hadn't yet but still worth a try. After thirty minutes they advised us that we should prepare for surgery. They would not be able to perform the surgery until close to 6 pm since he had eaten at 12 (and had water at 1) and they wanted to make sure that his stomach was clear since it would require general anesthetic.

For the next four hours Jack did really well. They moved him to a ward that had a spare bed (and a tv) so he spent the next hours lying there, a bit uncomfortable but not in agony, while he watched tv and Dad read a few books to him.

I managed to have some friends watch Theo and Addie and another friend drove me to the hospital so I was able to be with Jack before the surgery as well. Thankfully, the surgery went off at 6 pm without any complications. Jack was back up on the ward by 7:30 pm and Charles had the pound coin safely in his pocket.

They decided that he should stay overnight to be monitored so I went home to put Theo and Addie to bed and got a change of clothes for Charles and Jack and went back up to the hospital. They didn't want Jack to eat until the morning so he was very hungry. He said he wanted to come home for breakfast in the morning and eat 5 bowls of cornflakes, 2 satsumas, and 1 apple. It was with this comment that I was pretty sure all was going to end well in this ordeal.

Thankfully, he was discharged at 10 am. He managed to get two bowls of cornflakes at the hospital which seemed to satisfy for the time being at least. Theo, Addie, and I picked both Charles and Jack up and at Jack's request still made it to church.

After talking to Jack, we are still not sure exactly what happened to make him swallow the coin. He said that he was lying in his bed and pulled his coin out to have a look and that it just fell right into his mouth. When I asked him why he didn't pull it right out, he said that it just slid right down. We find this a bit hard to 'swallow' as a story - maybe in time we will get the correct version, but I doubt it. Some things in life are just never explained.

So glad that the ordeal is behind us. A mother's reflection on the event for other mothers who might be, God-forbid, caught in the same situation:
1) Don't encourage your child to throw up. The doctors said that this could have encouraged the coin to stay in the esophagus instead of moving to the stomach. Checking stools for the next week is much better than having your kid in surgery under general anesthetic.
2) Don't give your kid a drink. The doctors also said that the water was not helpful. It is best to wait for the x-ray and then make a call on water so as not to delay surgery due to having had fluids.
3) When your child loses his first tooth think carefully about the coin you give him, maybe pennies really are wise and pounds are foolish! Charles and I are seriously considering paper money or IOUs for the remaining teeth in our family.
4) Count your blessings. I have been reminded of this as I replay what could have happened.

And the coin (in its keepsake jar that the hospital put it in) that will be kept for many years to come: