So, we had a pretty eventful week last week. As I was packing clothes Friday the 3rd, getting ready to go camping, TJ ran in to the room I was in. He was totally panicked, and on the verge of crying. He told me, "I swallowed a magnet!" "You what?" "I swallowed a magnet." So, as I continued to get the story out of him, here is what unfolded. He told me he swallowed one of those rattlesnake egg magnets. Okay, I don't know if you have seen those, but they are big elongated egg shaped magnetic rocks. My eyes popped, and I clarified...he said it was like that but a square. The light went on...only a few days earlier one had fallen out of his pants in the dryer. It's about 1/2 inch square and 1/4 inch thick. He wasn't choking on it. He said it was all the way down in his belly. But he was scared. I tried to calm him down and I tried to call the pediatrician. Wouldn't you know it, they were gone for the day. So, I called Poison Control. They have a list on this kid probably by now. Anyway....they assure me that the magnet itself won't poison him or anything, however, the complication with magnets are this; if he has swallowed 2, or anything else the magnet can attach to, they get worked into the intestines and linked to each other, pinching the intestines off and the blood supply. "There have been several deaths caused by this." Okay, if you're a mother, you know what I was thinking. HOLY CRAP! They ask if I'm sure it was only one. Well, he says it was only one, but I don't know for sure. And has he swallowed anything else that the magnet would be attracted to? I have no clue. ER here we come!
So, I loaded the kids up and called Tony. We went and checked into the ER. TJ was so scared he wouldn't hardly talk. He just clung to me and rested his head on me. They took an x-ray and that magnet lit up like a Christmas Tree. They brought us a copy of it and said that they thought they x-ray machine was making it look a little bigger than it was. "No, it's that big." "1/2 inch?" they ask. "Yes, 1/2 inch square, 1/4 inch thick. It's pretty big." Well, they told us to watch him. We had to search for it when he went to the bathroom. If he didn't pass it by Sunday afternoon, we were supposed to bring him back for another x-ray.
See that big white square? That's it. The white circle is a snap on his hospital gown. That big square is inside his stomach.
This is a picture of a similar magnet. The one inside TJ is a bit bigger. These can be found inside those rock bins at tourist spots, where the kids can fill a bag of rocks. Well...this one is magnetic.
So, we finished packing and went hunting. So much fun to be a parent when you have to be on potty watch. TJ was so embarrassed.
We came home from camping Saturday, because it was snowing and muddy.
I got the stomach flu on Sunday. 1 am I woke up sicker than heck. No details will be given. I slept half the day and moaned the rest. Tony had to take TJ to the ER for the follow up x-ray, because we hadn't found the magnet. The x-ray showed it to still be in his stomach. It hadn't moved out. It's just rumbling around in there. They told him that if it still hadn't passed by Tuesday, we needed to take him to his pediatrician.
Monday I was still not feeling great, and of course my stomach was so sore. I also had a headache like you wouldn't believe. So, I stayed home from work. Gracie stayed home to "help" me. Once my headache finally went away, we scrap booked a little. And I caught up on my House episodes. TJ went to work with Tony, so he could be "observed". He had fun hauling rocks. He came home about 3 and Gracie went with Tony to haul 1 more load.
Tuesday, Gracie went to school, I went to work and Tony and TJ went to work again. Still, nothing. We were told that he would need to have a scope done to remove the magnet. However after spending Wednesday morning waiting for that to be done, they decided that it wasn't necessary and, we have now been told to wait for a month, and go in for another x-ray. If it's still not out, then they will decide what to do. They told us to quit looking for it, because we probably wouldn't find it. Au contrair....they do not know me. I would have found it, if it was there. But, hey, I don't want to look so I'll just wait for the month and check out the x-ray.
So, thus the reason for the lack in blogging. Life is crazy. Don't you love it? So, I have caught up on my blogging posts. There are several. They are not all on this front page, please make sure you click the older posts link at the bottom so you can see the rest.
Happy blogging!
