Learn First Aid

We had a very scary experience here the other day...

Axel was crawling around the floor in the lounge as babies do, being inqusitive as babies are.. I noticed it looked like he was chewing something, so I popped my finger into his mouth to do a sweep to remove whatever may have been in there, but came up with nothing...

He then started crying, and seen as it was naptime, I started to feed him... he gaged immediately... again, I swept out his mouth with my finger, found nothing, and latched him again... he gaged again, I took him off and looked in his mouth, there it was... right at the opening to his throat there was something, looked green and red, could be paper, I was just about to pop fingers in to try and get it out by pinching it between two fingers, when he swallowed...

And it got stuck..

I turned him onto his stomach and thumped his back hard. twice. nothing. lifted him up to my face, turned him back onto his stomach, thumped his back hard. twice. again. nothing... by this time he was screaming.

I picked up the phone and called 111.  Axel was still screaming, Ian was inside by this stage helping me, Axel kept trying to swallow, then he would gag, whatever was in his throat was not moving at all... he asw bright red, turning purple {a colour I never ever want to see again on one of my kids}, then we could hear the sirens, heard the ambulance backing down our drive, and Axel vomited, and drew breath in *sigh* we looked in his mouth and there at the opening of his throat was the culprit. again.

Ian managed to fish it out as the abulance officers walked through our front door. they took us out to the Ambulance and monitored Axel for 25minutes before decideding that he was good and they were happy to take him through to hospital if I wanted to, but were also happy to leave us at home if I wanted that also.

I choose to stay home and monitor him myself.  I am after all very trained in the area First Aid.  Others, however, aren't.  If you haven't taken a first aid course people. DO IT.

Our emergency could have ended so differently. but it didn't. and I won't dwell on the "what if's". I'm just thankful my wee boy is ok.

I wish to thank the 111 emergency service, the call dispatcher who kept me calm the whole time, and the 2 Ambulance Officers who were brilliant, special thanks to the one who let Cammy "drive" the ambulance {pics to come later}.