Open Tab........

I think we need a open tab at the hospital for Charlee.

On March 31 Sam and Charlee were down stairs watching a movie. I was working on the computer and Dad was watching TV. Charlee came up to me and told me she had swallowed a penny. I just told her to keep swollowing and it should go down. Later I was cutting everyones hair in the kitchen and she said "Mom the penny is stuck right here" pointing to the top of her chest. I looked at Jake and he said we better take her in. So we called Grandma to watch the other kids and headed out around 9:15p.m. or so. We walk in the ER and the nurse says asked us what was going and we told her. "No way" she said. "The only other person in the ER tonight is a little boy named Payton who has swallowed a penny." Crazy I know! Anyway we got an X-ray and sure enough the penny was still stuck right where Charlee said it was. The doctor said that we could either go to primary children's by flight or ambliance. I was totally freaked out by now. They said the penny was right at the point where the airway slits and goes to the lungs. If she moved a funny way or started crying hard it could lodge in one and there is nothing they could do to help her. The doctor decided to call the doctor at primary's and he said that 98% of the time is not in the airway. They let us drive. YAY!! It was of course the snow storm of the year all the way there. Jake did great though.

We made it there about 12:30am. and waited for another hour. They got us in a room and then to the X-ray lab. They had to strap Charlee to a board and layed her under a machine. A nurse at the top and one at the bottom. She was screaming the whole time. The Radiologist put a tube down her throat and then a wire and pushed the penny into her tummy. It took all of 4 or 5 minutes. They said we could watch for the penny if we wanted to but it wasn't a big deal.

We got out of there at about 2:00am and headed for home. Susan had to work the next day so we couldn't stay over. We got home around 5:30 in the morning. Lets just say it was a long stressful night. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

We are just glad we still have our sweet little girl.