the magic mushroom

it has been so dry here this summer, so we were very happy to see the rain at the beginning of the week. as a result of all the wet stuff, however, our yard became a dangerous playground. who would have thought this little thing could cause so much trouble?


late monday afternoon, we were out in the backyard playing. william and wes sat down in the backyard facing each other. they were laughing and having some sort of conversation. it was keeping them very busy, so i started picking up toys and cleaning up the backyard a little. a few seconds later, i look over to see wes chewing on something. this is not anything new, but he usually doesn't chew on things that could possibly be poisonous! so, i run over to him and stick my finger in his mouth to rake out whatever it is. it's at this point i realize that he is chowing down on a mushroom. both of his hands are clinched tightly around other mushrooms as well. so, i get them both inside, and get everybody's hands washed. at this point, chase walks in. i tell him that wes ate a mushroom. his response,"that's not good. call the pediatrician and see what we should do." i was not expecting what came next.

of course it was after hours, so my ped call got transfered to nurselink. i talked to some lady who told me to take him to the ER. i wasn't really feeling the need to sit in the germ-filled ER, so i called poison control for a second opinion. they told me to take him to the ER. so....i went for a third opinion. i called uncle zeb who spoke to the ER at UMC, and they said that we should take him to the ER. not ready to give in just yet, i make chase call the ER here and talk to a doctor up there. ER doctor says that we really need to bring him in. (the problem is that nobody can tell if they are poisonous or not, so they have to treat it like it is.)

i give in, grab wes' puppy, stuff his bag full of snacks and sippy cups and off we go. we wait around in a room in the ER for quite a while. wes and daddy flipped through the channels on the tv a countless number of times!


they finally came in and brought wes some charcoal to drink. it was about 2 hours past his suppertime, and he was starving. so intead of putting in an NG tube, we decided to try it orally first. i thought he might suck it down since he was so hungry. and i was right! he put that straw in his mouth and went to town. he drank about half of the glass before he took a breath and realized how bad it tasted! then, he started spitting and drooling, and the tar-looking stuff spilled right out of his mouth, down his chin, and onto his clothes. he would have no more charcoal, but he had already sucked enough down that it didn't matter.

while wes was drinking charcoal, william was eating suckers. he thought the ER was so much fun. aside from suckers and all the buttons to push in the room, they had an automatic paper towel dispenser above the sink. he waved his little hand in front of the sensor enough times to kill at least 800 trees. but he was happy, and i wasn't about to stop him!!


after the charcoal, the ER doctor came in and told us that he spoke to the pediatrician on call who said that we needed to get in ambulance and go to labonheur's for observation overnight. my jaw and chase's jaw simultaneously hit the ground, and i know we both looked at that poor man like, "you've got to be kidding me!" so, chase left with william to take him home and put him to bed. sweet amy came over to stay with him. (she is definitely at the top of my list of favorite people!) my parents were on their way to rescue her because we all thought that we were on our way to memphis!!

then, they came in to get bloodwork. this took 3 people. me...to lay on top of wes and pin him down, a nurse to hold his arm still, and another nurse to do the bloodwork. it took 4 sticks for them to find a vein. and as you can imagine, wes was screaming, tear-stained, sweaty, and not at all happy!!

after that, the ER doctor came back in and said that he had talked to lahonheur's and the only thing they were going to do was monitor him. thankfully, the ped on call said that we could stay here for him to monitor wes. memphis is only an hour away, so if things got bad there was an ambulance and a helicopter right out the door to get us there quickly.

so, we got to go upstairs to a room. before he could go to sleep, he had to get an iv. it took them 2 sticks this time. of course, as soon as i laid down on top of him he knew was what was coming and began screaming. by the second time they started digging around in his little arm with that needle, he was red and shaking. and, we were both crying!! it was about 3 hours past his bedtime, so that exhausted little guy fell asleep immediately back in the room.

they came in every 2 hours to wake him up and check vitals. he had an oxygen monitor taped to his foot and he kept getting tangled up in the cord. mama didn't sleep at all. wes didn't sleep much, but we made it through the night...despite the lady from the lab bounding through the door at 5:45am, turning on the light, and hollering, "good morning!" if i hadn't been cuddling my 15 month old in my arms, i may have jumped up and strangled her. anyway, his LFTs were fine in the morning, and he was eating well, so we got to come home!


at home, if i wake up in the middle of the night i just start praying for whatever pops into my mind. that night, i was awake the entire night....so lots of prayers were said. of course i prayed for wes, but there was so much more. that kid next door that was screaming. the nurse out in the hall talking too loud. all the parents in hospital rooms with their children at that very moment. and basically every single person that i know!

there's a little boy here in town fighting cancer right now, and i get updates every day on how he and his family are doing. recently a neighbor had to take her little boy to the ER for some stitches, and she said that it was just a blessing to know that she got to pick her son up and take him home. i couldn't help but feel the same way. as i sat there watching my little man sleep with all the wires and beeps around him, i felt so blessed that he wasn't fighting for his life. all he did was eat a mushroom. a stinkin' little mushroom!

God is good, my friends!