Split second

I've been scared a few times in my life--like the kind of scared where you make a split second decision that can make or break a life. Two of those have been with Samantha in the last year, the second of those today.

She quite frequently aspirates into her lungs in the winter. Whether or not it is related to acid reflux, hypothyroidism, or illness, I do not know. Thankfully we have a wonderful pediatrician who believes in me, rather trusts me enough to write us a storage closet full of inhaling corticosteroids. This is the second time those boxes of inhalants have kept us from the ER and who knows, a tracheotmy?!

Samantha was sitting down on the floor eating her goldfish when she choked. She took it right into her lungs and was grasping for air. Every tried breath was a cough taking more and more oxygen. I ran to the cupboard and pulled a tube of Xoponex into the nebulizer and over her face. I reclined her in my lap. She continued to cough every time she inhaled. After about two mintues and begging her to relax--"Please, don't cry, it will make it harder to breathe"--she calmed down enough to take a few breaths without coughing.

I had a choice. I could have called 9-1-1, but that would have taken too long. I'm so thankful that we have the medication we need at hand at all times. Goodness knows how it could have turned out. Last year when this happened it took us 4-6 hours of solid breathing treatments to get her from blue to pink. It's amazing how clear things become when you are faced with such serious and potentially deadly events.

Samantha is okay, terrified, but okay.