Monday, June 15, 2009
It was almost 5:30. I was just getting ready to start dinner. Hannah was already hungry and had been eating some almonds. I gave her a few, then she came back for some more. Next thing I know, Hannah is crying and Jeremiah is saying something quite hysterical.
"What?!" I yelled from my position in the kitchen. They had been arguing all day, certainly this was just a matter of who was sitting where on the couch...again!
"Hannah just put an almond up her nose!" was the reply. Now that had me hopping. I grabbed Hannah and looked up her nose...nothing. I brought her into the light...still nothing.
"Are you sure?" I questioned Jeremiah.
"I put an almond up my left nose," Hannah replied through her tears.
Being that I could not see the almond, I had to assume that it was way up there, so I figured that she could try to blow it out. I held a tissue over her nose, pinched the right side closed, covered her mouth and...nothing. No air flow at all. Try again...same thing and I still can't see it. Great.
Keith is not home yet, so I call his phone. "Are you still at work?" Kind of a silly question being that I called his work phone.
"I'm leaving now, " he replies. Hannah is still hysterical while I explain what has happened. It looks like a trip to the ER for us. (There is no urgent care or after hours clinic here.) It only takes Keith about 10 minutes to get home. I have put Hannah's shoes on, given instructions to the older boys and tried again to have her blow the almond out of her nose. Still nothing.
We pile in the car, and head for LRMC. Keith explains to Hannah why she should not put things up her nose, and I try to calm her down. I try again to get her to blow it out again...still nothing.
Once at the ER, we check in and are advised of a "very long" wait. By now it is nearly 6:30. She still can't breathe out of her left nostril and I still cannot see the almond culprit. Minutes tick by. Some patients come and go while we wait. Almonds are a very low priority. Seems stitches are too. We meet a young girl who came in about an hour after Hannah who hit her head on the bed and has a cut about an inch long. Well, at least they have each other for company. They gladly trade stories as we wait.
At about 9:30, we see some friends from church with their newborn (another victim of lack of urgent care and the fact that it takes a couple of days to get kids enrolled in the system). They just need a bilirubin level checked. After keeping us company and seeing how long the wait really is, the decide that he can wait until tomorrow and take their leave. Alone again and Hannah is really getting grumpy. The almond is still not to be found and she still cannot breathe out of her left side. We begin to wonder if we are ever going to be done. I have heard of these extractions sometimes taking hours and we have not even started.
Finally, it is our turn and 10:30 at night. We are 5 hours post almond stuffing. We make our way to the ER stretcher. "The doctor will be with you in a few minutes." I am glad to be here and not in the waiting room, but am not looking forward to what lies ahead. The lighting in here is pretty good. I have Hannah tilt her head back so I can see. Sure enough, there is an almond visible. Visible! Wait...I hurredly grab a tissue and have her blow again. Viola! An almond!
Now I feel a little silly, yet relieved at the same time. I carry the almond to the front desk, and explain to the staff what happened. The doctor comes in to check he nose and all is clear. We sign our discharge papers and are led out of the ER. At least we have cleared the room for the girl who still needs her stitches...
