I can't even really tell you what date it was any more and I cannot even remember if it was a Monday or Thursday. I have intentionally placed some distance from the incident and writing about it because I still get a little emotional about it and admittedly a few tears still show up in my big brown eyes. One evening a few weeks ago Justin and I were sitting in the living room and working on homework stuff while Ellie played on the floor. She had been wandering up to the coffee table to grab a few sweet potatoe puffs and then she'd crawl off to her perch on the floor. She was literally a foot away from me. A few moments into this routine she grew rather quiet and then we heard a sound - the sound of choking. She was grasping for air and Justin ran over to her first and scooped her up and starting surveying the situation. She was indeed choking on what we presumed to be one of those darned puffs. He looked in her mouth and saw nothing, and quickly began back blows however shortly into the process (and after moments of Ellie not responding to the back blows) he realized "what" was happening and to "who" it was happening to and just began crying. It was simply one of those moments when fear took over, and seeing a helpless baby gasping for breathing is one of those moments my friend.
I took her from him and looked down and her lips and mouth were a purple/blue tinge and I just thought to myself - "don't look - just do." I began back blows and after a while she let out a loud cough and then even louder cries. I turned her over to look in her mouth but there was nothing in her mouth and nothing came out. When she breathed in and out it still sounded raspy in her throat and we knew that whatever it was was still lodged. She was still struggling for air but was able to get breath and she was in major distress. We packed up in the car quickly (me without shoes - which Justin tells me goes down in the books as the most ghetto move of all times - in restrospect, of course) and headed to the ER which is only blocks from our house. By the time we arrived she seemed to have caught her breath more consistently and was calming down, and so we sat in the parking lot just to make sure things were copasetic. She then started again not being able to catch her breath and the raspy sound returned, and this time she began vomiting. We were hopeful this would help her rid herself of whatever was blocking her throat, but after several episodes the vomit had blood in it and still no choking item.
We took her inside and we were seen rather quickly and while the doctor was examining her she began throwing up again and this time I spotted something in her mouth. I took a look inside and found the culprit. It was one of those stickers that come on a laptop - the ones that say "Windows 7" or "Intel". Those stickers, in case you never inspected one, are a thick (almost plastic) material and are VERY sticky. Even after all the hoopla this sticker was still incredibly sticky. The doctor said he was concerned about an infection which could cause her throat to swell, given the bloody vomit and that this item likely scratched up her throat pretty well, and so he wanted to admit her downtown (this ER does not have inpatient capacity). We felt confident that we could watch her through the night, both being RN's and given that the ER is so close by, and he agreed and we brought her home after a 3 hours period of observation.
When we got home the poor little ladybug was exhausted but also had a ton of gas from all the air she swallowed coughing/crying/and trying to swallow that stupid sticker. So it was a VERY rough night while then, of course, spilled over in to days. For us nothing could compare to the guilt we felt that we somehow weren't watching her closely enough or that we could have done something differently. So now we are extra paranoid....hopefully we won't ruin her for life!! She is back to her old self....crawling around....getting into everything....climbing on everything...putting everything in her mouth....and Justin's even let her start eating puffs again. I think we will be alright - another parental crisis survived.
