I heard a story a few months after Bennett died from a friend of mine.
It was a story of a little 3 year old boy that wanted a snack before bedtime.
His mom agreed and went to the fridge to prepare a snack of green grapes for him. She ran to use the restroom and he followed with his snack in hand. He was standing directly in front of her popping the grapes in his mouth one at a time when the unthinkable happened…the grape lodged itself in his throat.
He panicked…
His mom panicked…
And his dad called 911 while trying to save his son’s life.
For 15 minutes while they waited for EMS to arrive they tried to dislodge the grape, unfortunately it was in a position in the little boys esophagus where it could neither move down or be forced out. Due to the lack of oxygen for so long the little boy was pronounced brain dead at the hospital.
This story has always haunted me. If you know me personally, I have probably told you this story before. What a total nightmare. I remember thinking when I heard the story that I would never give Ellie grapes…EVER! However, let’s face it that isn’t realistic. So, as a solution I always cut grapes in half when Ellie eats them. Always!
Well, last night I wanted a snack before bedtime, so I got up and washed red grapes. I brought them into our bedroom where Ellie was waiting to snuggle. I did not cut the grapes this time because I was being lazy (and Cullen was crying to be held), but I showed Ellie how to bite them in half and only eat one half at a time. She was doing exactly what I told her to do…when a grape got lodged in her throat and she began to choke.
Horror!
The adrenalin shot through my body and all I could yell at Brandon was, “She’s choking!!!” over and over again. I threw her head forward, put Cullen in the middle of my bed and watched as Brandon repeatedly hit her back in an attempt to have Ellie cough up the grape. I don’t remember how many times he had to do that…maybe 8-9 times. Each time my body began to shake even more. She couldn’t cry until that grape FINALLY popped out onto our sheets and I cried just as hard as she did while I sat on the bed holding her. It was a total nightmare that had come true. Between her screams, Ellie made it very clear that she, “Never wants to eat Gwapes again!!!”
So, please take it from me: Always cut up your grapes into fourths. Ellie’s grape was bitten in half and the piece was so small we would have never assumed it could get stuck. My baby girl is over 3 1/2 and can eat anything. This was an accident and it can happen to anyone at anytime.
I promise a picture update soon!!! I am in over my head this week as usual, but I will take the computer to bed at some point and upload pics!!!
I had to share this pic of my beauty. This was taken the last week in May and Ellie was on her way to dress rehearsal for her ballet recital. She LOVED wearing makeup for her very first time!!!
Blessings,
Angie
2 comments:
oh my goodness! that is a VERY scary feeling that I know all too well. Grace once choked on a gummie fruit snack. We were home alone and I was loading the dishwasher and she was at the table. All of a sudden I heard this sound, a sound I will never forget but so hard to explain. I look over at her and she has her hands at her throat and is clearly not breathing. I ran over and you'r right adrenaline just kicked in. I started beating her on her back and finally BOTH gummies popped out. I literally fell to my knees and sobbed. Now I always sit with her while she is eating those kind of things, or really while she is eating anything and remind her constantly to eat one at a time. I never want to see that fear in her face or experience that fear in myself.
I'm so sorry that you had to experience that. . .how scary. It is sort of like the fear I've had of Olivia falling on playground equipment and it happened yesterday. I was in horror and it wasn't even that far of a fall. But, when she got really tired and then started throwing up, I rushed her to the ER. . .a nervous wreck. Sometimes it is so tough being a parent and experiencing your fears coming true. I usually cut Olivia's grapes up for her, but sometimes I've been known to be lazy and give her only the small ones. I won't do that anymore. Thanks for the reminder.
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