Curse the Butterscotch!

We had a scary afternoon at our house today as sweet Bella chocked on a butterscotch candy.

I had just picked Samuel up from school and when I walked in the door Bella asked if she could have a butterscotch candy. She popped the candy in her mouth and was standing by my side when all of a sudden she started to choke. At first she wasn’t making much noise, but was in obvious distress. The situation then escaladed as she was sticking her finger in her throat trying to dig out the candy. I grabbed Bella and hollered for Chuck’s mom and dad to help me (I was so thankful they were here!).

It was a little chaotic at this point because Bella started screaming at the top of her lungs, so at least we knew she was breathing even though she looked ashen white. I think we all need to brush up on our first aid skills because what followed next, at best, could be described as shear madness as we all three were trying various methods to dislodge the butterscotch. Once Bella started spitting up blood Luann said we needed to take her to the emergency room, which is clear across town. I finally decided I just better call 911 because the local emergency personnel are very close.

I really wanted to cry, but it’s amazing how you can pull it together when you really need to. The 911 operator was wonderful as she calmly walked me through what to do. One of the first things she said was don’t hit her on the back – Oh great, we had all taken a turn hitting her on the back. Then she asked who was screaming – it was Bella – and she told me I needed to get her to calm down because it was going to make the situation worse. I told Bella she needed to stop screaming and she quieted, but still had tears flowing and was so white. She told me to lay her on the ground and tilt her head back and wait for the ambulance to arrive. Bella then asked me if they were going to cut her belly open. The poor thing was so scared.

At this point Samuel was huffing around saying he was hungry and someone needed to get him his lunch. Honestly, I wanted to scream - Hello! Can’t you see we’re having a crisis here!! Luckily Luann told Paul to make him a sandwich before I could even react. Then I just thought to myself, what have I done wrong that my boy is demanding a sandwich when his sister is lying on the ground in distress? Somewhere my mothering has gone awry!

As I held Bella’s head and looked into her scared eyes and tear streaked face it hit me that I have been worrying a lot lately about things that really don’t matter. There’s nothing more important than my family and taking care of these precious kids of mine.

The ambulance got here quickly and the guys were wonderful. They checked her oxygen levels, which at first were low, but then the number quickly rose. They listened to her breathe and rubbed her throat. Even though Bella still felt like the candy was in her throat it had passed by this time.

After they left, I sat on the couch and held Bella in my arms. She was still very white as she told me she was never going to eat butterscotch candy again. Then she told me she had thought she was going to die and that she really didn’t want to die. I just wanted to hold this sweet girl of mine in my arms and never let her go.

Isaac asked me several times throughout the day if Bella still had blood coming out her mouth. That scene obviously made a big impression on his little mind. Then tonight Samuel said he had not been scared because he knew Bella was going to be fine. That confidence could explain the reason he needed a sandwich during the middle of it all! I’m just thankful Paul and Luann were here and that everything turned out just fine.