Choking

This morning I heard a story about a 911 operator who was still in training when he got a call from a mom that had a child that was choking. His supervisor was standing there while he calmly told the frantic mother how to help the child and it ended with the child being saved.

When he got off the call, his supervisor praised his great job of calmly directing the mother to helping her child. The operator turned to his supervisor shaking and visibly upset. "That was MY child that was choking!"

When that call came in he had NO idea what he was about to face. But, he was able to CALMLY give his wife instructions to help HIS baby. His supervisor gave him the rest of the day off to spend with his wife and baby!

This is something I have wondered about a lot. I have been through several infant/child CPR and heimlich maneuver training courses. If MY child was choking, would I be able to do CPR or the Heimlich to save his or her life? I honestly think I would freeze in fear!

I have had two children choke on two different occasions. The first time was Bryce, years ago. We were at a Sunday School function and he was eating a hotdog. Paul was out of town, so it was just me and the four kids. You can read about that experience here.

The second time was last year and it was Andrew. You can read about that experience here. Thank goodness Daddy was there! But, my heart stopped and I had a second where all I could do is freeze. If he had not been there would I have snapped out of it in time to save him?

This is something that is very serious to me. Not only because it is a serious situation, but because I have a two (almost three) year old that still ALWAYS has something in his mouth that he should not have. Money, legos, marbles, SOMETHING! I also have a fairly newly mobile baby that puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. If she can reach it and it fits in her mouth, it is in it. If it doesn't fit in her mouth she is trying to bite it. The odds of me being alone and one of them choking are VERY high!

I can only hope that if (or when) I am put in that situation that God would give me the strength to move, and quickly. There is no way I would be able to do it otherwise!