So our Friday Night started like any other, Kasey was at a coaching clinic, so Jonathan & I were hanging out with Trenton. We put Trenton to bed at 8pm, ordered pizza and at 9:30pm Jonathan climbed into our bed to watch cartoons, while I cleaned up from the pizza. What I didn't know was that he had taken some of his Magnitex magnets with him. Around 10:00pm or so, I hear what sounds like a choking noise & then Jonathan screamed. Freaked out I ran into my room and this is what was said:
Jonathan - "Mom I swallowed a magnet!"
Me - "What do you mean you swallowed a magnet?"
Jonathan - "I swallowed one of the steelies"
Me - "You what?!!! What was it doing in your mouth?"
Jonathan - "I don't know...I was just playing." - then came the tears, he was so afraid he was in trouble.
Me - "Sweetie, you're not in trouble, I am just trying to figure out what it was doing in your mouth. You will probably just poop it out in a few days"
Well, given the size of the Steelie, (which really is not magnetic) I really wasn't so sure, so I hurried and jumped online trying to get some info on what to do when your child swallows a marbel. All the info I read said it's best to get them to the doctor. So at 11:oopm, I called Kasey who wasn't home yet and told him to meet me at the ER. I had my cute neighbor come over and sit with Trenton who was sleeping and off to the ER we went.
At the ER they got us right in, and took an X-ray. The doctor told us that he would most likely just pass it in a few days, but to watch for nausea and vomiting, problems going to the bathroom, things like that. They gave Jonathan a copy of his X-ray for his memory book and told him to not eat any more magnets. So home we went - by this time it was 1:30am and we were exhausted. Saturday morning I decided that this was sort of funny and I wanted a photo of Jonathan with one of the steelies - cause heaven knows I WAS NOT fishing the one swalled out!
A few hours later, Jonathan, Trenton and I hit Kmart to get a couple of things and as we are walking through the store, Jonathan suddenly says, "Mom, I'm going to be sick..." and I am thinking - "Crap - we are in the middle of the store, please don't throw up here!" So we literally ran to the bathroom and Jonathan throws up 5 or 6 times. (I am watching to see if the marbel came back up and unfortunately it didn't!) I wasn't sure what to do, so I called Kasey (who was currently taking a test for his D coaching license) and he said, take him back to the ER. So off to the ER we went again...the whole way over, Jonathan is telling me he is fine and that he feels better. Yeah, not buying it! So we get to the ER for the second time in less than 12 hours, they get us back in the back and get us one of the lovely pink chuck buckets and tell us a doctor will be in soon. In the mean time Jonathan has begun throwing up again. Finally, the doctor comes in tells us he wants another X-ray since he is vomitting, and they may have to go in and get it. Well, after 3 more x-rays and 12 hours the magnet had not moved at all. Turns out, it's too big to pass through his stomach. It was actually in stuck in his Esophagus. SO it was off to surgery to fish it out!
We actually spent more time signing paperwork, and getting him up to the Operating Room than the actual surgery! They were fortunately able to go down his throat and retrieve it. It took the Pediatrician seriously about 10 minutes to get it out. Hallelujah!! He spent about 40 minutes in recovery waking up from surgery and then they let us go - making Jonathan promise not to put another marbel in his mouth.
Finally back home and resting comfortably...
They let Jonathan take the Steelie home as a keepsake and he was pretty excited about that.
So after 14 hours in the hospital, we retrieved the marbel and other than a pretty sore throat and tummy all is well...we did however finally get the story about WHY it was in his mouth to begin with...He was putting the round ball in his mouth - tucked in his cheek, and he was taking the blue magnet part and trying to see if he could get the magnet to stick through his cheek. You gotta love 8 year old boys thinking! I never in a million years thought Jonathan would put one in his mouth, but I guess it goes to show curiousity almost always trumps logic!
