Are you sure there isn't any more in there? We're gonna need it

The day before Lauren and Lexi turned 5 the kids were all excitedly counting their money in their piggy banks. They were given $15 to spend at Toys R Us and they were hoping to add a little bit more to that amount by counting up all their change. I was not paying any attention to what they were doing because this is something they had done before and even little Quentin was in the habit of emptying out his piggy bank just to put it back in through the slot.

I asked the kids to clean it up and get ready for bed and I picked up Quentin to change his diaper and get his pajamas on too. I was on the phone with my Sister in Law, Tennille, at the time. As we walked back to his room he talked about what he was going to get at Toys R Us the next day. I laid him down and started to change his diaper. In the middle of cleaning him up he started to choke. I dropped the phone (poor Tennille still on the line had to listen to everything that happened) and picked up Quentin to try to get whatever was in his throat out. I screamed for Daddy to come back and help because I couldn't both hold him upside down and pound on his back or check his mouth at the same time. When Daddy got there he nearly broke a couple of ribs on the poor little guy but eventually he at least started to cry which was a relief since he was then at least getting some air. We stood him up to assess the situation and he immediately threw up into my hands. A big pile of puke, blood and in the middle of it all....a quarter.

We were so relieved that the quarter had gotten out. We took him to the bathroom and cleaned him up and asked if he was ok. He responded that he was fine and so we got him a little drink of water and went on with our night time routine before putting him into bed. An hour or so after putting him to bed he woke up crying and we went in to find that he had thrown up. After cleaning everything up I did some online research to see if was normal for children to throw up after choking. Based on the blood from the initial quarter expulsion it made sense that his throat was probably a little hyper sensitive. He acted fine and laid back down so we didn't worry too much. He woke up crying one other time during the night and then at breakfast the next morning his first bite was in and right back out. After the first bite he didn't want to try to eat anything else but he drank some water and got dressed to go to the park with the girls for their birthday.

In hind sight, knowing that there was a quarter, nickle and a dime stuck in his throat, I of course feel like the world's worst mom. But in my defense, besides the occasional puking, he was acting and talking fine. And when I asked him about whether or not his throat hurt, he always answered "no". When the kids got back from the park (little Quentin didn't eat any of the Pizza they had from lunch), I called the nurse hot line to see if it made sense for us to take him in to get looked at since he still wasn't eating anything. The nurse thought that it was probably just a result of the trauma from choking on the quarter but it wouldn't hurt to get it checked out just in case. Daddy had put him down for a nap by this time so we waited until everyone was up before deciding on a plan for taking him in to get looked at. (again, the world's worst mom).

We decided that since the trip to the ER was probably going to be long and pointless that I would go ahead and take the girls to buy their presents at Toys R Us while Daddy took little Q in to the hospital. Quentin's parents were on a vacation in Europe at the time so we couldn't even call his mom, a nurse, for help/thoughts (maybe she would have saved poor little Q from a whole day of discomfort).

When we were almost to the store Daddy called to say that they had taken an x-ray and were waiting for the results but that they would probably be getting out pretty quickly. It makes me feel a little better that even the ER doctors thought that everything was fine based on his appearance and behavior. Daddy said that they would give him an anti-vomit pill and then release him once they got the results.

Just a few minutes later, and right as the girls had walked through the door of the Toy store, he called back to say I had about 10 minutes before the helicopter left and if I wanted to be on it I had better hurry. I quickly put 3 very put-out little girls, and baby Isaac back into the van and raced to my friend Yasmin's house where I left them all to race up to the airport. Thankfully Yasmin also has a young baby because it was time for me to nurse Isaac and he was not going to appreciate not having anything to eat so she was able to give him a bottle and had a little girl the same size as my girls so clothes weren't even an issue.

When I got to the hospital Little Q was so excited about getting to ride in a helicopter. You still couldn't tell that there was anything at all wrong with him - except for the bright white circle in his x-ray.

Little Q's smile was huge as we lifted off in the helicopter. It was really neat to fly over Yuma that way. We were just going over the foothills when he fell asleep. I couldn't even wake him up for the landing on top of the parking structure at the hospital in Phoenix - which was way too cool!!

When we got into the hospital, the mood and treatment of the staff was so different than that in Yuma. I am so glad they had a children's hospital that we could come to. Just having children's shows on in the rooms or the nice staff that works with kids all day long was such a welcome difference. I won't even go into the Yuma ER techs process of putting in an IV - it was a bit of a joke.

Matthew (Quentin's brother) and two of his friends were there to give Quentin a blessing and Elizabeth (Quentin's sister) was there too. Kamber ("mammer" as little Q calls her - Matthews wife) showed up a little while later after she got off work. He was the most popular kid in the hospital. I was glad they were all there to wait with me as the surgery was done because holding his hand as they used the gas to put him to sleep was completely unnerving. Before the surgery the surgeon assured us that although the x-ray made it look like a quarter because it was so big, that it probably wasn't a quarter as those are very rare since they are usually too big to get down in the throat and stuck. She also mentioned that it looked like there may be more than one coin stuck in there but that the most she had ever seen was 3.

After what seemed like a very long time (watching Madagascar 3 in the waiting room with Elizabeth, Matthew and Kamber) the doctor came out and asked us to guess how much money she got out. Knowing that it was probably not a quarter I guessed .20 cents. Kamber chirped up with a hefty guess of .40 cents and the surgeon handed me the bottle with the quarter, nickel and dime.

The whole experience was so weird because little Q looked and acted perfectly fine (well if you factor in the lethargy from not eating all day). It was weird to be in an "emergency" helicopter when there was no perceived emergency. I couldn't help by try to mentally add up the cost of the trip. When the Helicopter landed there were a two people there to meet us (in addition to the two techs in the Helicopter and the pilot). Then as they wheeled the gurney from the parking lot into the hospital (a fair distance), there were 5 or 6 other security people shining their lights on the ground so the gurney could be easily wheeled along the pavement and sidewalk. Each time a new person showed up I couldn't help but think of the incremental cost of the assistance. In the end, nearly all of it was covered by insurance including the helicopter ride that came in at a whopping $28,000.

It was an interesting experience and although I won't be getting any mother-of-the-year awards for this one, it is definitely going to have lasting memories. and as little Q often reminds me now "no monies in neck mommy"