Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I used to be lifeguard...

but it's different when it's your own child...

Sunday evening C & E were setting up a board game while I finished dishes.
I heard E coughing in the other room.
It quickly turned to gaging.
I left the dishes to find E barely breathing.
And, then it turned into only one tiny gasp of air every few seconds.
My husband ran into the room and grabbed the phone to call 911 while I attempted to do the
Heimlich Maneuver for a Child. I thought I was doing it just right, but it didn't seem to be working very well.
I just couldn't seem to get a good thrust.
That's when I realized that my gigantic belly was in the way! Duh! I had completely forgotten that I was pregnant.
I switched with my husband who said 911 was not answering???
I tried calling and got a recorded message???
My husband's attempt at the Heimlich finally dislodged the small chess piece that was causing the choking, along with some blood.
Don't ask me where it came from. I can't even remember how to play chess.
E seemed to recover quickly, with just a sore throat for about a day.
I think the chess piece must have cut his throat a little.

So, this got me thinking about 2 things:
1) What would I have done if 911 never did pick up?
And
2) What would I have done if E ended up passing out because of the lack of air?

I searched around and thought I would share the answers with you. These are things that every parent should try to be prepared for.

1) I decided to ALWAYS have the Fire Dept. and the Sheriff's Office phone #s on the refrigerator and in my cell phone.

2) Know the Heimlich & CPR. Like I said, I used to be a lifeguard and have been a swim instructor for years. But, if you don't keep current, you forget. And, I found out that the recommended guidelines have changed a bit over the years.

Sometimes I wonder how kids survive to adulthood!

One more thing I found out:
 the #1 choking hazard for children (after food) is
balloons!

4 comments:

  1. so glad to hear that your little guy is okay. Thank you for this post. We just had a CPR training with our youth group, and I was thankful for the refresher course.

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  2. WOW! Scary! I really need a course in CPR...I took one a long time ago but I have forgotten.....thank you for the gentle reminder and I am so glad your little man is ok.

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  3. On my goodness, I would have been panicked, I am so glad he is ok. It is a really good reminder that anything can happen, even with an older child.

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  4. OMG! I'm so so glad E is fine...what a scary experience...and I'm so going to get a refresher course on CPR, and place those numbers on my phone/frig....

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Comments & Ideas Welcome!