A penny for your thoughts

On Sunday we went to Temple for church, lunch and a quick stop by the mall. As we were leaving, I pointed out a penny on the ground because Emma loves to find "moneys". It was heads up (lucky), so how could I resist?! She has never put anything foreign into her mouth...that is, until Sunday.

We were about ten miles outside of Temple headed home when we heard a cough/gag. Emma has a mild cough (allergies) so we didn't think much of it. Soon after she wailed "My money's gooooone!" Jarrod put things together before I did. She had eaten the penny. I panicked! I immediately pulled over and my mind started to race. Here was my internal dialogue: She seemed fine, but the penny was making its way through her digestive system! That can't be good! Why would she put a penny in her mouth? Why would she swallow it? Did I forget to teach her to not eat money?!

Of course it had to happen on a Sunday - her pedi office was closed! We called poison control and the representative assured me that if she was breathing normally she would be okay. She strongly encouraged us to make her drink and eat something bulky and high in fiber. She said that we could either head to the ER and play the waiting game or wait until Monday to get an x ray done. We decided to wait it out. She seemed perfectly fine, the ER is crowded/expensive and the football game started at 3 (priorities, right?!)......

Being the worry wort that I am, I called Dr. Dewbre at home. Not only is she our Waco pedi, but her husband and Jarrod coached together in Riesel. It's definitely beneficial to have a pedi on speed dial ;) She is usually overly cautious and told me not to worry. She said that her niece swallowed a quarter and it was never found (whoa!) She said to search for it and that if it hadn't been found by the end of this week that x rays would be necessary. She said that this is a common dilemma but that occasionally coins can land in the esophagus, which isn't so good. There's a short lesson for those of you who experience this with kiddos in the future ;)

I was nominated to the search committee (HA!) Her daddy never got the chance to look for it. Hope he didn't feel left out :) Monday came and went.....no sign of Abraham Lincoln.

What goes up must come down. What goes in must come out. The penny was discovered this morning! It was a little tarnished. My parents love to tell the story of when I once swallowed a nickel. Now I am my own story to tell Emma! We are keeping the penny to show her first boyfriend :)