choke choke go away...

To say this week went by fast…would be complete understatement…Monday night Maddie choked…or should I  say obstructed her airway…of course Maddie chokes about twice a week sometimes more…so this is our “normal”…Monday night was typical…she  was eating fine ground beef and avocado…and began to choke so Chad helped her get it out…Maddie started yawning a lot but I just thought she was tired so I put her to bed…she slept in and so we were rushing to get ready for therapy…I gave her medications 2 liquids and 1 crushed pill…everything went down fine…then a few minutes later she started coughing and using her gag reflex and more hamburger and avocado came up…I cannot believe this child can sleep with things caught in her esophagus! but she can and does…so I continued to watch her and just thought her esophagus was aggravated by the food being in there all night long…Maddie laughed, played, had therapy just like any other Tuesday…I gave her medications at the same time I always do to prepare for lunch and she coughed at the first one…again not unusual…I began to feed her ice cream thinking for sure she would eat that…she did and then with in a few minutes she began coughing, gag reflux and up came the ice cream…so I tried yogurt, baby food, cheetos…all came up…so like any good parent would do…I put her down for her nap…because again this is not unusual but I just had a feeling…I called Chad and told him to prepare not to be there tomorrow…I think we are headed to Denver…he did and I called the doctors and began the process…at 5 pm we were at the ER and we where told to drive 4 hours to Denver for a work up…yes this is why we do not like to go to the doctor…it is not just a short 10 min car ride or even an hour it is 4 hours…so we dropped Max off with friends and off we went…so picture this driving on long Wyoming roads not a car in sight or a town…so I felt a tad vulnerable to think that if Maddie begins to aspirate…what do we do? nothing because we have to drive 4 hours to be seen…10 min out I called the hospital to warn them that we were there…we checked in an I said that the surgeon is waiting for us…so they lead us back to a room…little did I know at the time that we were suppose to be on the 4^th floor peds unit not the ER…but of course communication is a bitch…so 3 hours later the peds floor finds us and Chad and I have had NO sleep and Maddie is going on 24 hours plus of no food and not much water…she is sad and tired…we get up to the room and Chad and I get a couple hours sleep and then the waiting begins for the esphogram…as we get in the room we see familiar faces and that is nice and comforting…with one big sip of the barium there it was a HUGE foreign object stuck in Maddie’s esophagus…surgery scheduled for 4:30 pm…so in the meantime Maddie is mad she cannot eat or drink so she slept a lot! finally we get in and they dislodge the object…CARDBOARD! Yes cardboard from the Birthday Party games we had on Monday…along with hamburger, carrots, and cheetos…all lodged in her….for 36 hours…I am not sure that is comfortable…but since my baby cannot speak…why hurry! because she is happy and smiles…why hurry…just go about your day as if there is not a child actively choking….but whatever! while they were in there they dilated her esophagus…so all in all it was a good thing…crazy I know but I got some good questions answered…about Maddie and TEF…Trachea Esophageal Fistula…I am thankful she was not stricturing and it was a foreign object…because we have made great strides with eating real food…I am thankful we got a great doctor that could tell us not to be surprised if Maddie is not self feeding a complete meal until she can cognitively understand…that she has to chew till the item is very small and take BIG drinks…so she on average sees kiddos around 5 or 6 be able to accomplish this milestone…of course Maddie can pickup  a cheerios and feed herself…she can even use a spoon…but Maddie does not get she can only have one cheerios at a time and she has to swallow the first one before she gets the second one…and I was reminded to slow down and be thankful…be thankful my support system for a great husband and a rockin son! and most of all how great Maddie is in situations like this…she is just cool and pleasant…not fussy like you would expect her to be…I am glad to be home and maybe get some rest…