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Midwest 40's mom, who loves her big family, party planning, fashion/beauty and nursing career. Welcome to our wild, but full heart crew.
Life Fragile as Glass
Introduction:
Having twins can be an incredible experience, but sometimes their mischief and shenanigans can get them into trouble. Recently, I experienced a prime example of this when my twins got into a dangerous situation.
In an attempt to prevent mischievous behavior, I had created a safe living room space. Unfortunately, this didn't stop one twin from finding new way to get in trouble. Although most of the mischief and shenanigans my twins get into are harmless, this was not one of those occasions.
I had created a safe living room with soft couches, light socket covers, no knick knacks, baby gates up, no big kid toys, and a safe place for the twins to crawl around.
I had Tidy Tim (our Roomba vacuum) pick up any dirt or crumbs on the floor daily.
Charlie was always on the hunt for little tiny pieces of anything to put in her mouth.
I was sitting on the couch, visiting with my mother-in-law, and the big girls were running around upstairs.
Charlie suddenly made a gagging motion. I picked her up; she was gagging, but nothing came out.
Her color was changing...Oh, God.
I flipped into nurse mode. Head down, back slaps... her airway was not clearing. She isn't breathing.
Now she is drooling profusely, more back slaps.
In my mind, I knew that if she went unresponsive, I wouldn't be able to do CPR for long without breaking down.
I told my mother-in-law to call 911. Those are the words you never want to say as a mother.
As she was calling, blood was now coming from her mouth.
I continued the back slaps, flipped her over, looked, and assessed. No change.
Then suddenly, a big blob of blood fell on the white carpet.
Charlie then gasped and gave a big cry.
PD walked into the living room moments later to see me holding my crying baby. I explained the situation, and the PD backed out of the room, for the firefighters had just arrived. I was explaining I didn't know why she was choking and why there was blood. Then, I reached down and brushed my finger through the blood. There lay a triangle of glass. We bagged it up and took it with us in the back of the ambulance. EMS whisked us away to our local children's hospital.
It was a broken piece of a glass ornament. We hadn't had those ornaments for five years. Charlie had found a shared and, like any 18-month-old, put it in her mouth.
She was cleared after an afternoon at the hospital, and her dad had pulled every couch out, lifted every piece of furniture, and cleaned and cleaned.
I came home, sat on the couch, looked down to the floor where the blood stain was, and tears slipped down my face. Life is so precious. We were just a few moments away from the unimaginable. All the meaningless things that take up our time don't matter. This life is so fragile, just like glass.
Life Fragile as Glass
Introduction:
Having twins can be an incredible experience, but sometimes their mischief and shenanigans can get them into trouble. Recently, I experienced a prime example of this when my twins got into a dangerous situation.
In an attempt to prevent mischievous behavior, I had created a safe living room space. Unfortunately, this didn't stop one twin from finding new way to get in trouble. Although most of the mischief and shenanigans my twins get into are harmless, this was not one of those occasions.
I had created a safe living room with soft couches, light socket covers, no knick knacks, baby gates up, no big kid toys, and a safe place for the twins to crawl around.
I had Tidy Tim (our Roomba vacuum) pick up any dirt or crumbs on the floor daily.
Charlie was always on the hunt for little tiny pieces of anything to put in her mouth.
I was sitting on the couch, visiting with my mother-in-law, and the big girls were running around upstairs.
Charlie suddenly made a gagging motion. I picked her up; she was gagging, but nothing came out.
Her color was changing...Oh, God.
I flipped into nurse mode. Head down, back slaps... her airway was not clearing. She isn't breathing.
Now she is drooling profusely, more back slaps.
In my mind, I knew that if she went unresponsive, I wouldn't be able to do CPR for long without breaking down.
I told my mother-in-law to call 911. Those are the words you never want to say as a mother.
As she was calling, blood was now coming from her mouth.
I continued the back slaps, flipped her over, looked, and assessed. No change.
Then suddenly, a big blob of blood fell on the white carpet.
Charlie then gasped and gave a big cry.
PD walked into the living room moments later to see me holding my crying baby. I explained the situation, and the PD backed out of the room, for the firefighters had just arrived. I was explaining I didn't know why she was choking and why there was blood. Then, I reached down and brushed my finger through the blood. There lay a triangle of glass. We bagged it up and took it with us in the back of the ambulance. EMS whisked us away to our local children's hospital.
It was a broken piece of a glass ornament. We hadn't had those ornaments for five years. Charlie had found a shared and, like any 18-month-old, put it in her mouth.
She was cleared after an afternoon at the hospital, and her dad had pulled every couch out, lifted every piece of furniture, and cleaned and cleaned.
I came home, sat on the couch, looked down to the floor where the blood stain was, and tears slipped down my face. Life is so precious. We were just a few moments away from the unimaginable. All the meaningless things that take up our time don't matter. This life is so fragile, just like glass.
