Posted: 11/19/2007 9:13:10 AM EDT
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Saturday was like most typical weekends, get up, walk the dogs, breakfast with the kids. Quick appointment for flu shots for the family, followed by karate and tennis lessons for the older boys. Some family together time, a nice dinner, and off to the bath with the baby. Finish putting on her PJ’s, and send her off for her bottle, while getting the next kid into the tub. Routine. Peaceful. While sitting in the bathroom watching my son, his bath was interrupted by desperate screams from my wife, a tone of voice that I had never heard before, and hope I never hear again. I rushed downstairs to find her holding the limp, lifeless body of our almost 14 month-old baby girl, my wife screaming, my other sons hysterical, “she fell, she fell, she fell”. Her pupils were fully dilated, her eyes were rolled back in her head, she was pale, and she was not breathing. I told my wife to call 9-1-1, and in the eternity that followed, I flipped my daughter over, head down, drained and cleared her airway, turned her back onto her back, laid her on the floor, and she still was not breathing. I covered her mouth and nose, and gave 2 quick rescue breaths, and then told my oldest son to grab my bags from the garage. I gave her another breath, and felt and saw her chest rise, and then she took a very shallow breath on her own. My sons had my kit open by now, and I quickly turned on the oxygen, and assisted her ventilation with the bag-valve-mask. It was another few minutes before her breathing was strong enough to be functionally adequate, and another few minutes after that until her pupils reacted, and constricted, and then, finally, thank G-d, she started to cry. About then the first of the 9-1-1 responders arrived. Two police officers came through the door about six or seven minutes from the call, followed rapidly by a deluge of people that shocked me. There were 16 people in total who showed up, from the PD, the FD, and the EMT’s. They took her from me, at some point I had pulled her into my lap, and papoosed her for the ride. I left my wife to follow along later, and we went for a lights and sirens trip to the hospital. The hospital had been notified in advance, and we rolled up to the entrance and into the trauma room. A fast disrobe and survey, and quickly into CT for scans of the head and c-spine. Her scans were normal, nothing broken, no intra-cranial bleeding, so now it was time to take a deep breath of my own, and right about then the adrenaline rush let up, and the trembles hit, big time. Took a good half hour for the after effects to wear off, and then my wife showed up at the hospital. She had the M-I-L come over to watch the kids, and then she drove to meet us. It was only then that I could even start to comprehend what had just transpired, and I broke down, and cried like a baby, right there in the middle of the E.R. It was also the first time I could answer her question of “is she OK?” She told me after that while I was working on the baby, I told her I didn’t know. She left again a couple hours later, and I spent the rest of the night with my daughter in the E.R., having her pupils monitored, as well as her vitals. On Sunday morning they discharged us, with anti-biotics and a follow-up with the pediatrician to check her lungs, as it turns out, she aspirated a little when I started CPR, and had some consolidation on the chest film on the left side. The anti-biotics will help to avoid pneumonia from the aspiration. The remainder of Sunday was quiet, and I caught a little sleep when not obsessing with my baby and my thoughts. Lessons Learned / Lessons Reinforced: 1) With the exception of some weather related situations, there is rarely warning when the SHTF. Complacency is an enemy. You can never really let your guard down. 2) All the preps, supplies and equipment in the world are useless without the knowledge and training to use them. Had I not been home, my wife would have been unable to render assistance as I did. The last time she took a CPR class was before the birth of our oldest son, about 13 years ago. Training and knowledge are perishable goods with a short shelf life. That oxygen, and the B-V-M might as well have been a doorstopper if I wasn’t around. My profession requires basic and advanced cardiac life support certification every two years, as a condition for licensure, and I have done it since 1988. 3) 9-1-1 is NOT a sure thing. More than enough time had elapsed for my baby to have suffered irreparable damage, or even death, before they came through the door. See #2. 4) Working on your own child is scary in a way that can’t really be described. Over the years I have participated in countless life-or-death situations, in the E.R., in the O.R., and on the street as a by-stander. I do not ever remember feeling the level of panic as I did this weekend. I did not rise to the occasion, I really, and truly, defaulted to my level of training. It took me all day yesterday to slowly piece together the whole thing, and go step-by-step along the timeline. I only recalled clearing her airway when my son asked me why I flipped her over. I violated crucial rules of c-spine management in doing so, and I wasn’t even aware that I did it. 5) A moments distraction is all it takes. My wife filled me in on everything that happened before she screamed for me. The baby was having a bottle, and they were both sitting on the edge of the coffee table in the living room. One of my sons called out from the upstairs landing, and they both looked up at him, which caused the baby to lose her balance and topple forward, off the table, striking her head on the hard wood floor. My wife leaned over to pick her up, and realized that she was limp and unconscious. Plans for the future: First off, a refresher course in CPR for my wife and the two older boys. In fact, I am going to sponsor the course at my house and invite all the neighbors to attend. I am also going to ask the babysitter and my in-laws to join us. Second, after I get it refilled, I am going to show my wife and boys how the tank works, and how to set it up. They can then do it and save precious seconds for me, or more importantly, for themselves if I am not home. Little kids have small reserves, and the sooner it is flowing, the better S Third, I am ordering carpets for the damn floors. A little padding would have gone a long way, and since there is no way we can stop the baby from climbing onto the couches, or the coffee tables, we can at least give her a softer landing area if she tumbles. Last, I am going to make sure the house is better marked at the street. One of my kids had to go outside to flag them down, all the houses have two driveways, are set far back, and the numbering system is bizarre because we are on a cul-de-sac. I need some reflective numbers and post them at both driveways, not just on the mailbox. So Arfcom, with my baby safe, and my wife and I finally calm, we are open, and in fact welcome, any constructive criticism that may better help safe-guard the lives of our loved ones. There is always something more to learn. Oh, and a HUGE thank-you to the Suffolk County P.D, and Melville Fire/Rescue, as well as the staff of Huntington Hospital. I owe all of you a beer, or twenty, and I can’t thank you enough. |
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Speechless. Nothing witty, nothing constructive, nothing critical. Too busy thinking about my 2 and half year old. I'll reply again when I'm done hugging her. Don't expect it'll be any time soon. Damned good work on your part in all regards. I'll be thinking of your little girl and family. God bless. |
Sounds like Thanksgiving will have a much deeper meaning this year. Thank you so much for putting a plus in the day when so many days are ruled by the minuses. Good job, and BTW you don't have to substitute a "-" for a "o" as far as I'm concerned. My guess is you were being supervised by the right guy. 
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Thank you all. Crazy stuff, but it makes you take inventory of your life real quick.
It will, you're welcome, and my guess too. Still gonna give respect though 
Good for you. Contact your local ambulance service to see where to take a course in your area. Money well spent. |
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Glad all is well,and thanks for the write up. It's been over 10 years since I've had any medical training, and you're right: I simply don't recall much of it now, and KNOW I wouldn't under pressure.Time for a refresher.Or two. There is NOTHING I fear more than something happening to one of mine, and being helpless. |
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That is my worst fear, is having to do that on my kid. Thank heavens she is ok. Ugh, it makes me sick to even think about that happening to my little girl. As a side note, it is VERY true that nobody "rises to the occasion", they revert to the level of training they're had. I've done several CPR classes, and became a first responder in high school. Almost 3 years ago I had to do CPR on my older brother. I was in auto pilot, and it took me about 2 hours to actualy decompress and come down from the adenaline high. |
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I have to be certified for CPR every 3 years. I have never used it and I think its awesome you responded they way you did. I hope all is well with her and with all of you. Nothing worse than your child in pain or unconscious - at least knowing where to start is a good thing. Glad it has worked out okay - I am just sitting here praying for peace in your hearts and minds over it now. |
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Minor Update: Pediatrician saw her and her lungs sound great, and she is not showing any evidence of side effects from the fall either. In fact, she clearly must have no memory of the experience, because she is trying to climb on anything she can. Best wishes to everyone for a Truly Thankful Thanksgiving! fish |
great job and glad she is safe and well. on a side note... what you went through was major concern least 3 times once my duaghter learned that she could sit "up" high and climb...... but ive also learned they bounce back alot better than what i could if i fell like she does LOL congrats and keep safe and enjoy your family |
Can be purchased from any medical supply house. Google portable oxygen tanks. The one I have at home is a small EMT bag unit. However, it is not the oxygen itself that was important here, it was dealing with the fact she wasn't breathing. If it got to the point she was turning blue, and mouth to mouth had no effects, I would have probably intubated. |
Great news, fish. You have a lot to be thankful for this year, that was a truly horrible story. |
| good news, and good job. just an FYI: i take CPR classes every two years for my job, and what i have been told about someone whos not breathing is that for adults its only a short time before you start to get brain damage, but for infants they can go for about 30 - 45 minutes without oxygen before it they start getting brain damage. something to do with their brains still developing. no worries. |
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Wow, that was definitely a wake up call for me to get some real training. I've got a lot of med stuff I don't even know how to use. My girl fell down our stairs when she was around 1 yr. We put a gate at the bottom, but it was left open and she crawled up... I heard this slow "thump, thump, thump, thump" and then heard the scream. Luckily, due to our very thick carpeting/padding on the stairs, and the very slow fall, she was absolutely fine. I have seen a lot of bad stuff in my time as a LEO, but I had never felt fear like that before. I can't imagine what you went through, or what might have happened if you hadn't known what to do. Thanks for sharing. |
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Excellent work, and thank you for sharing. Is there anyway you can put a strobe light at the end of your drive way? There was a company once upon a time (not sure if they are around or not) that made a strobe light that connected to your phone so if you called 911 it started. You would tell 911 your address and to look of the strobe light. |