The kid managed to swallow some small piece of metal that broke off of her aluminum pop-top can. It wasn't the loop part that you bend to pop the can open, but a small U-shaped metal piece that holds the loop to the can. I ever noticed the construction, either. What can I say, childhood (and motherhood) is full of all sorts of little discoveries.
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| Yes, that upside-down U-shaped piece is working its way through her digestive tract at the moment |
So rather be safe than sorry, she earned a trip to the ER on a Saturday night. Joy. We were the only ones there when we walked in at 6:30 pm, but that didn't stop time from standing still and us not getting into a room until 8:00 pm where we still had to wait to be x-rayed.
Luckily the Big Bang Theory was on Room 16's TV, which was a definite improvement from the Fox news station in the waiting room. Of course, being in a hospital is just one long waiting room. Suffice it to say that the line "If we ever get out of here" from Wings' Band on the Run was on an endless loop in my head.
The little bit o' metal didn't show up anywhere on her x-ray, so we were told to assume it will pass through with whatever else is in her intestines at the moment. I'm supposed to keep an eye on what she does over the next day or so and make sure there's no blood (poop detail!) and then follow up with her pediatrician on Monday, although I can't really guess what he would be able to do. They said something about him checking her out by pushing on her stomach.
As emergencies go, so far this has been a little one. I hope it stays that way. Apparently kids swallow all sorts of stuff. Pins, needles, other sharp objects. They gave me a standardized print-out about it, "When your child swallows a foreign object." I remember putting a penny in my mouth once as a kid, but it tasted so foul I spit it out. I never would have considered swallowing it.
We were so happy to get our exit papers, but both felt so bad on our way out — three HOURS after we first arrived — when we saw a family with a little baby girl and a man who was in pretty severe pain from gout who were still sitting in the outer waiting room. Both groups had come in a little after we had arrived. Saturday night at the ER
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