Friday, April 26, 2013

My Kid Ate a Penny



x-ray of penny in belly
The x-ray of Mr. K and his penny


Just like the title of the post says, my kid ate a penny.  Last night we were sitting in the family room, and I started to hear what sounded like metal clinking. I looked around, it stopped.  I then heard it again, and as I looked at Mr. K - his hand was in his mouth and he had a really weird look on his face, and then he made a huge gulping/swallow sound - I asked if he was ok and he said "I ate money".

His breathing was fine, he was talking to me so I wasn't worried about an obstruction. I asked what colour it was, he said brown.  I had taken a penny away from Mr. J earlier in the day and put it in my pocket.  I asked Mr. K to show me where he got the money, and it was from the couch (where I normally sit)

I didn't panic (not my style) but I thought maybe I should call telehealth.  After going through all their questions, she said that because I wasn't 100% sure it was a penny (because I hadn't actually seen it) I should have him assessed within 24 hours.

Off to the walk-in we went this morning, the doc said that he needed an x-ray (again, because I wasn't 100% sure it was a penny) and that since it was Friday, she was sending us to emerg to have it done.

I called my MIL to come with me (not fun being stuck in emerg with a kid - much easier to have someone with you - then you can at least go to the bathroom alone!)

The wait before getting an x-ray wasn't actually all that long - about 45 minutes from the time we walked in the door, waited to be triaged, then waited to be moved from that waiting room, to another room and then to xray. The longest part was after the x-ray - 2hrs45 minutes.

We saw the doctor, she showed us the x-ray and felt his belly; told us that it will pass on it's own and what to look out for in case it doesn't pass.

The BEST part - she told me I DON'T have to check his diaper for it~!

17 comments:

  1. This is an awesome "when you were little" story for when he's older - image and all ;) kids do the darnedest things :)

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    1. yes - it definitely is! I will be keeping the picture, but NOT the penny

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  2. That's gotta be pretty scary. I'm glad it all turned out well though. Has he "passed" it yet? ;)

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment! It wasn't "Scary" per say, although if he had choked it would have been.... my biggest worry was I was wrong, and it wasn't a penny (not that they can tell for sure, but given the size and the story behind it, they are confident)

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  3. Oh my goodness, how scary! I would have been freaking out!!!
    Thank goodness he didn't choke!

    Thank goodness for not having to check his diaper!

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  4. Yay for not having to check his diaper! That completely reminds me of when my sis was a baby and was on the kitchen counter and had managed to get the lid off a bottle of my Dad's prescription pills. My Mother bundled us all in the car and we rushed to the hospital and got her stomach pumped (I believe she was 2 or 3 at the time).

    When we got home, she noticed the remnants of the pills at the bottom of a bowl of water she had nearby to put cut veg in.

    My sister (now 29) has still not forgiven her!

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    1. OMG - how scary. My kids got into their vitamins once and I had to call the poison centre. Luckily they only had a few each - so nothing to worry about.

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  5. OMG that is so funny! When my youngest was in the hospital getting surgery for tonsils and adenoids, there was a little boy who was sharing our room. I never really asked what he was in for as he was happy and well, and had the same doc as us. I figured probably the same. Well when he came out of surgery, my boy was still super groggy, and he was super happy and giggling. They said "Do you want to see them??" I thought wth? they kept the tonsils??? LMAO but it turned out....he had stuck beads in his ear...not 1 but 2, and needed surgery to remove them! LOL They had them in a jar to keep.

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    1. Apparently kids are very obsessed with putting things in holes....wow

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  6. OMG!! so scary! I found a dime in my DD mouth!! Thank goodness I got it out before she swallowed. You are so mellow, I would have freaked! My personality trait! lol

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    1. Glad you caught it before she swallowed it - thanks for stopping by.

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  7. I'm very sorry to hear this! So, here's the million dollar question: what are you going to buy with the penny once it comes out ;)

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    1. haha - nothing - it will NOT be coming out of the diaper

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  8. My second oldest swallowed 2 pennies. One of the news station was filming a segment about pediatrics ER that night. Yep, my 3 year old was on the news too. They did not use X-Rays but a metal detector to make sure the pennies were in the stomach. The doctor had us go to the airport about 5 days later to have them do another metal detector scan to verify that he passed it. LOL It was very scary at the moment but very common for toddlers.

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    1. Oh my - 2? wow - apparently the penny is the most common item for toddlers to swallow; thanks for stopping by

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  9. LOL, funny,story, and great outcome.. But you need to stress to your son that this was not what you meant when you told them to save their money. I know that it was a scary episode for you. WHen I was around 9 or ten years old I swallowed a dime, I never told my mom or dad was afraid of getting in trouble, I guess all times passed in time, I am now 64 years old... LOL

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