911 and Poison Control

Day Fifty-four: This morning while I was checking Truck's foot (which is fine), Ariel was just walking around waiting to get ready for church. I was almost done cleaning everything up when I realized something was missing...and Ariel was crying. I had opened some Kwik Stop gel for Truck's claw just in case is started bleeding again. To open it, I had to unscrew the top and peel the piece of paper off the top of the bottle. This piece of paper was missing. It had some of the gel on it, so I jumped up quick. It wasn't in Ariel's mouth, but she was crying. I looked around and when I looked back...it was in her hand, but all the medicine was gone. She had put it in her mouth, swallowed it, and spit it back up. Oh no!

Clear as day, in all caps on the bottle: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. And in smaller print: For external use on dogs and cats only. Welp, Ariel is a human and she has ingested it. Hmm, I wonder, are we going to miss church to go to the hospital this morning?

I don't know what else to do quickly , so I call 911 - I knew it wasn't an emergency (yet), but I don't know what kind of reaction she might have or the number for poison control. I told the guy the situation and confirmed we didn't need an ambulance. Is that the only reason you call 911? Anyhow, I knew I really probably needed poison control, so he gave me the number. I called poison control. Then had to call them again. It seems poison control couldn't be reached from my cell phone. Maybe because I was calling in VA and my phone number is from NC?? I don't know. It was a 1-800 number. Maybe that's the problem?? So I call from my parent's phone and it goes through. I told this lady what happened. She looked up the gel and I read the ingredients. Apparently, it was only considered a "taste exposure" and though there is some iron in the gel it isn't enough to cause a problem. Relief. I felt a little silly for freaking out, but Ariel's safety is worth way more than my pride. The lady did reassure me that they would rather me call than not.

Ariel calmed down really quick...actually before I even got onto the phone. She's been fine. No weird reactions. All is well.

I am very thankful for public resources in cases of emergencies. Turns out we didn't need them today, but they did bring me great comfort. I didn't have to guess or hope or research, I just called and got answers. Immediate, trustworthy, and free.

Thank you, God, for Ariel's safety today. I am so grateful that it wasn't something worse that she put in her mouth. The girl is lightening fast. I was there the whole time, watching. In fact, cleaning up that very minute, so she wouldn't get her little hands or mouth on that piece of paper. And yet, she still managed it. Thank you for protecting her. Thank you for people who care about safety and have provided resources to help. Thank you, God, for rational thinking in a stressful moment.



What's this about? I decided on my birthday to make a commitment to being intentionally thankful. I challenged myself to post one thing I am thankful for everyday this year.