December 19, 2019 by Allison Laney
My baby choked last night, and what happened still chills me to the core!
Last night, all three boys were “bathing” in the tub. AKA-laughing while “swimming under the sea” with pirate ships and full on whale dives! Which equals a HUGE mess for us, but a few minutes of a break to clean the kitchen.
Griffin, 13 months, wanted out of the tub so he started whining. I had forgotten to give the boys their vitamins and probiotics at dinner so I brought them in with me (It is almost cold and flu season y’all, YOU better get on it!).
I handed out all the gummy vitamins and round probiotic tabs without a second thought, and turned around to grab a towel.
Then I heard it…..that sound that is so recognizable to me…….the sound of someone gurgle-gasping………
My baby was attempting to gag UP the ROUND probiotic tab that was lodged in his throat! Both boys started screaming, “Mommy, he’s choking!”
I instantly grabbed his wet, slippery body out of the tub and began 5 downward, back slaps It didn’t work….
I turned him over and gave 5 little upward, chest compressions, at this point he’s not crying, he is just gasping and becoming glassy eyed.
It was in that moment, that I remembered a story about a kid getting a balloon lodged in HER throat, and they were too far away from a hospital for help, and it ended in tragedy.
<<We are in a small town in Spain, 15 minutes from the Naval base that COULD help me. I’m sure there is a hospital here, but I’ve been told by a local that if we needed the hospital here in our sweet little town, for it not to be a TRUE emergency. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY>>….
Not today SATAN! Not today….I turned him over and gave 5 more downward, back slaps. Nothing….
I REPEATED THE CYCLE….
At this point I thought to myself, Allison scream for Greg. But nothing came out of my mouth…. or his. Greyson, 7.5, is pacing in front of me, saying mommy he is choking, mommy he is choking….over and over again. Grady is diving under the sea unaware of the situation.
Then, I looked inside, AND saw nothing, and I thought I’m about to have to do CPR, this cannot be happening, and so I did what all American Heart Association courses tell you NOT TO DO. I did a blind finger sweep, or honestly in this case I reached into his throat and dug the probiotic tablet OUT!
HE INSTANTLY STARTED INHALING SWEET AIR INTO HIS PRECIOUS BABY LUNGS.
It was at this point that Greg walked in, wondering why his kitchen partner hadn’t returned and found the mess we were in. It was less than a minute that this all transpired. It truly felt like an hour, and now post trauma I don’t know how I thought of the things that I did, but I know time was creeping by and as in ALL trauma situations, somehow you think clearly and coherently and recall all events. It’s odd how our brains work.
Y’all, Griffin is fine.
Why?
Because, I KNEW what to do. And, how to STAY calm.
DO YOU KNOW CPR?
I urge and plead with you to learn it if not, this could be your child on a seemingly normal evening, and what could have happened if I didn’t have experience and training is unthinkable. Sign up for courses here!
Don’t have time to attend a course? You can buy this video to learn HERE.
Life is a blessing today!
XoXo
Allison
((((to note-I always break his probiotic tablets in half, but I was distracted and not on my normal routine of giving them with dinner/breakfast and just handed it to him in a mommy fail minute, anddddd…..he knows how to hold his breath and swim so he gets to play with his big brothers in the tub))))
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