I had considered making this just a little post, but I might as well tell the whole story so that everyone knows.
Monday was a busy day. Preschool in the morning, doctors appointment in the afternoon (which I actually had the time wrong on), then tae kwon do for the kids and a Jr. Auxiliary meeting for me. Our meetings ended at 8pm so we got home late and I was trying to get all the kids to bed. As I was in the kitchen Veronica came to the gate and happily showing me that she had a necklace chain in her hands. I take the chain from her to put away and as she inhaled to say something she chocked on something in her mouth. She began coughing, screaming and crying, and gagging trying to work it up her throat. I noticed that the butterfly necklace pendant was not on the table and I knew what she had in her mouth. I called the hospital right away (I did hesitate thinking maybe I should just see if it would pass, but knowing the shape and size I didn't entertain that idea for long). As I was on the phone with the nurse, Veronica had an "oh that's better" moment and she stopped crying so frantically. I called mom back to the house and I took her to the ER. I told the PA what happened and they took two x-rays. I never did get a chance to see them, but the butterfly had stopped in her throat right above her esophagus. Exact same place as her one penny last year.
Due to the nature of the foreign body (medical diagnosis used), after the PA consulted with Dr. Vanderneck and they spoke to the General Surgeon from York, it was decided that we needed to go to Children's Hospital in Omaha. *sigh* Definitely not what I was expecting. However, York is not equipped to do pediatric procedures such as this, so we needed to go to a bigger hospital. So we all prepped for our trek. I had Ryan get me an overnight bag together, the nurses put in an iv lock in Veronica's hand (after a failed attempt in the arm- she was so brave), and the EMS was called. So Veronica and I got our first (and hopefully last) ride to Omaha in an ambulance. The butterfly was sitting at an angle, so we needed to be taken by EMS in case it dislodged and cut off her air way.
We arrived in Omaha a little after midnight Tuesday morning. The nurses settled us in and we spoke to a couple of Resident Doctors. Veronica slept on the ride there, but she was pretty wound up at the hospital. They took us for two more x-rays to see if it had moved (which it hadn't). Veronica was pretty much done with everyone touching her all the time, and she was asking to go home. We were finally able to try to get some sleep by 3am. That night I knew Veronica and I were going to be okay, but my thoughts were with Ryan and the other kids, especially Michael. Michael has only taken 2 bottles and he still nurses very heavily at night, so I was concerned with how he was going to handle being separated from me. Thankfully the hospital had a roving breast pump and a refrigerator in the room for me to use.
Around 6am Tuesday morning, (yeah, I got three hours of broken sleep- Veronica refused to sleep in the hospital crib so she slept with me on the couch), they took us for another set of pictures. I knew the answer, but they were looking to see if it had moved. It hadn't. So they put her on the surgery schedule for an EGD where they take a scope down the throat and pull the foreign body out. We were told it would be sometime in the morning. Around mid-morning they said they had her on the schedule for a 2:30pm procedure. Great, we have a time and more of an idea what is going to happen. I knew what the procedure entailed because she had the same done to remove the pennies from her stomach. Anyway, they had a wonderful playroom on the Med/Surg floor so we took advantage of that as much as possible. I tell you though, it is difficult to follow a 2 year old around a play room with an iv and pole. Anyway, time got closer to 2pm and we were told that it was going to be closer to 4 before she was taken in. Bummer. All the while, Veronica is NPO (nothing to eat or drink). The poor girl was starving. She would watch me pump milk and would ask me for a drink. I had to keep reminding her that she couldn't have anything until she had the butterfly taken out of her tummy. Around 2ish they took her for one more set of pictures to see if it had moved, it had not.
By 4pm they took us down to surgery. They gave her some medicine to make her "loopy" (she was looking pretty good too) and then they wheeled her to the surgery room. I never really did look at the time when they called us back when she was done. Oh it was pretty cool. The surgery waiting room had a flat screen with a list of all the patients in surgery and their status. So we could see when she was in surgery, recovery, and discharged. Anyway, they told us she was done and we went with her as she was wheeled back to her room. I remember last time (we were there as an outpatient) that I could hear her screaming as she had come out of anesthesia. This time, she was determined to not be held by me. She wanted to show that she was totally okay. As she stood on the floor while the nurse took her vitals, she kept teeter-totting. She tried hard to stand there, but she realized it would be better to be held, so I held her for a bit. About an hour after surgery she was back to her normal self.
I was so hungry by then (this was around 6ish pm I think) so I decided to go get myself something to eat while Ryan stayed with her. Oh, let me back up first. The real monkey wrench (as if rushing to Omaha wasn't crazy enough) the doctor came out after the surgery he gave me the little butterfly in a cup and then said what the plan was for the evening which included observation for the night then if she could tolerate food in the morning, she could go home. Uh, er, um... say what? I was not expecting to have to stay another night, but I understood why. After all it was a rather large charm and it was lodged at an odd angle. So rather than going home and having something happen then be rushed right back to Omaha, we stayed. Well, rather I stayed with Veronica. Ryan had to go home because, well he didn't have any clothes with him and he had to work Wednesday. So, I got it set up with mom and dad and they were coming to pick us up Wednesday morning. We got Veronica settled in, and after tolerating liquids she was disconnected from the iv pole. Hurray!!!! That was one happy girl. She was able to play in the play room with out me having to constantly remind her, "Hang on you're going to get tangled up!!" I think we both called it a night around 10pm. Sleep, wonderful blissful sleep. Again, she refused the crib so she slept on the couch with me. This time I didn't have to worry about her iv getting tangled up.
All that night we had nurses in and out, and starting very early this morning (Wednesday) the doctors made their rounds. I slipped out while she slept to get myself some breakfast. When I came back she popped up in bed and saw my white container. Her eyes widened and she said, "Wow, eat!" How could I refuse that! After all they said that if she could tolerate breakfast we could go home. So I was already planning on having to share my breakfast with her, so I got her some scrambled eggs. She chowed down on those delightful eggs.
Oh, yes, the real kicker of the whole ordeal. When we first arrived the doctor asked me about her bowel movements and if they were really hard because her belly was full of poop. Yeah, that didn't surprise me because this girl can poop like a big kid. So I was prepared for some pretty major diapers. After the surgery they gave her lots of fluids to drink including apple juice. All night she had been passing gas so I knew it was coming. With the surgery, air tends to get pushed into the stomach, so she was still passing gas. That night it happened. With the first diaper there I saw it. A rock. Yep, I told the nurse and she said it was hard? No, I said a rock, literally a rock. Sometime in the last two or three days she had swallowed a flat rock and it passed that night. Sometimes I think I need to be saving everything I find in her diapers.
Okay, so after breakfast more nurses and doctors came in to check on her and finally the surgeon came in. And I think I embarrassed him a bit; I was pumping when he walked in. Didn't bother me, but it kind of caught him off guard. The beautiful words were spoken, she is doing good and we can go home. We had to wait a little bit as mom and dad had to load up Mary and Michael and drive the 2 hours to get to the hospital. While we waited, Veronica was getting very tired of the rooms and so we walked the halls in a little red car. The nurses and doctors loved seeing her roam the halls. However, as we walked past all the rooms, I was very thankful for the health of my children. There were so many sick children on that floor. So many rooms with contact/airborne/droplet precautions. So as we walked, I prayed for every child in every room I walked past.
Our ride finally arrived and at 11am Wednesday morning we left the hospital. As much as I don't want to ever return there, I'm not going to hold my breath. Oh, after all while at the hospital in the playroom she tried to pull the same stunt again by putting a small lego piece in her mouth. Thankfully another family was in there and the lady told me. She had her back to me and I knew she was looking at the shelf, but I didn't even see her hands move! And yes, I took it away right away and took all those pieces off the shelf and to the front desk. I didn't know why they were even in that play room. Anyway, we are home; and life was waiting for me. It didn't miss a beat. Kitchen with dirty dishes, clothes and toys lying around, and dirty diapers to be washed. I didn't mind getting things back in order because after all I still have my darling Veronica with us.
