Our evening had gone so smoothly. Dinner was cooked. The kitchen was clean. Baths were taken. Homework was complete, and it was only 7:15. I was feeling pretty good about everything. Then it happened. Madeleine brushed her teeth in her normal bedtime routine. She asked me to clean her dental space maintainer. This appliance is banded to one of the back teeth in her mouth, and it is really hard to keep it clean with just brushing alone. I asked her to lie down on the bed under the big light, so that I could clearly see in her mouth. Then, just as I have done many times before I got a small safety pin from my bathroom cabinet. While I was trying to clean her appliance Madeleine jumped and the open safety pin slipped from my hand into her mouth! I was panic stricken, and I immediately picked her up to try to get her to spit it out. It was too late. She had swallowed the sharp pin. In frenzy I called Justin to help. He remained calm, but I was losing it! Justin immediately loaded Madeleine into the car to take her to the emergency room at Baptist. Scans there confirmed our fear that the pin was in her stomach. However, Baptist did not have the pediatric equipment necessary to remove the pin through an endoscopic procedure. It is a great place for having babies and newborn care, but as we learned last night...not so great for older kids. They sent them to Palmetto Richland Children's Hospital, and a great doctor there performed the removal procedure. While all of this was going on, I was at home with Micah praying and crying and doing a lot of worrying. Justin texted me every 5 minutes to keep me updated about the procedure. Finally, at 3:00 AM the doctor was able to get the pin out of her small intestine. It had moved from her stomach. She had to stay in the recovery room to wake up from the anesthesia, but she was able to come home last night. When they got home around 3:45 I crawled into bed with her and just thanked God that she was okay. She didn't move all night because she was so tired. It was one of the worst nights of my life, and I am so glad it is over. This morning Madeleine woke up and saw the pin that was inside of her last night. The doctor gave it to Justin as a keepsake. Her only comment was, "Well, at least I have something for show and tell next Monday." Hopefully, my "not so great" moment of motherhood has not scarred her too badly, and I will avoid going near my children's mouths with sharp objects from now on...lesson learned.
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| Hopefully, You Will Never Get One of These Keepsakes |
