memorable anniversary

Wednesday was our ninth anniversary.  Before kids, we tried to plan a weekend away to celebrate.  After kids, we just tried to go out to dinner near our anniversary, although last year, we did go to Las Vegas near our anniversary.   Originally, we were going to go to the mountains this weekend, without the kids, so Nathan could do a triathlon.  Which then became an aquathon.  Which he decided not to do, and we just changed the city we were going to visit.  We had all the logistics worked out.  And then came Wednesday morning.  I was showing Amelia pictures from the aquarium.  Seth was cleaning his room.  We had already been to the grocery store and were waiting for Marie and the boys to come over for a pool day.  And then Seth says,

"Mom, I made a mistake."

Okay.  "Show me your mistake."

"I swallowed a money"

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  "What kind of money?"

I dump out his bank, and he points to a quarter.

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  Call the pediatrician.

"Oh, it'll be fine, it'll pass through."  Have you lost your everlovin' mind, lady?

Five minutes later, Seth's in pain.  Call back pediatrician. 

"How soon can you be here?"  Five minutes (hurray for moving to the doctor close to home!)

Call Nathan, Marie, and my mom, in that order.

At doctor's office...Seth's breath sounds assessed, sent to an outpatient facility in town for an x-ray.

Call Nathan, Marie, and my mom, in that order.

While waiting at outpatient facility, second guess myself for not going straight to the ER.

Get x-ray taken by really nice lady who allows me and Amelia in the back room with her, see this:

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  Get told we are being sent "somewhere".  (I told them exactly which somewhere I'd be going.)

 

Call Nathan, plan for him to take Amelia to Marie (who is waiting for us at our house). 

Get told that Seth has a 3pm appointment where I wanted him to go (which at least lets us bypass the ER).

Meet Nathan, make plans for him to come home early, head home.

Let Marie supervise all the kids while I clean up, pack an overnight bag, some toys for Seth, and take a shower.

At 2pm, Seth starts feeling better.  Uh-oh.

3:00, arrive at our appointment.  Wait less than two minutes to be called back.    

Get seen first by an attending. He is a very nice man from South America. I have never met him before, but he gives us VIP treatment. He asks Seth, "What do you think you are? How you say it....saving pig?" He walks us over the x-ray. All the technicians come out when they see his name on the board. Missy lets me back in the tech area.

Dang it! Quarter is on the move. No wonder he feels better. Having it scoped out is no longer an option.  Meet with attending again.   He says the quarter was already in Seth's small intestine, and he's happy about that.  He says there is a less than 5% chance that it will cause an obstruction, and that it should pass in the next 3-10 days.  I wasn't told this earlier, but there is a very real risk of causing a tear in the esophagus when removing foreign bodies, especially coins, so this is the better option.  And now we wait...and because there is a risk of a "hang-up" along the way, the doctor advises me against going out of town for the weekend.  Plus, I have to make sure the money reappears.  That's not very nice to ask the grandparents to do. 

So...Seth feels fine, even though I'm pumping him full of fiber and encouraging rowdy pool behavior, hoping he'll swallow some pool water.  So far, no luck, still stuck.