The Screw Saga!

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You know those shows or a news report about someone's kid swallowing a battery or a nail or a matchbox car? And you know how you think, "Gosh, don't people watch their kid?" and you judge just a little because your kid has never done anything like that? I mean, yeah, one shoved a fuzzy craft ball up their nose but they didn't swallow anything. Judge no more, Haley swallowed a screw, actually an eye screw to be specific. One Sunday, after lunch, girls were acting crazy, Jason's packing to go overseas, I'm upstairs putting away laundry, the stair basket gets knocked over & Haley finds two screws which looked tasty, puts them in her mouth. Lily starts yelling for me telling me Haley has screws in her mouth, I sternly tell her to "SPIT THEM OUT!", she did but only one. Lily stuck by the fact that Haley had two in her mouth and only one came out. Bless that child and her tattletale, nosy ways! We looked for the other screw, couldn't find it, Jason's getting ready to be picked up for the airport, I call the pediatrician, tell the other girls to pack some toys/snacks/books because I think I'll be sitting in the ER with my 4 kids while they extract a screw. Nope. Dr. said it's super common, should pass within a few days, call back if it hasn't. At that point, I really didn't think she had swallowed it but I still dug through her diapers all week.

 

 

Friday came, no screw. Jason was more insistent we go & get an xray. There was no radiologist to read the xray but they gave us a copy to keep. We got home, I gave it to Jason and I'm out mucking out the car and Jason yells, "Jenny, get in here" and my mouth fell open as I saw the screw in our little girls gut. We were much more worried than any Dr.! Dr. still said it should pass on its own, it was stuck in some stool. Tuesday xrays showed it hadn't moved much so we did Operation Clean Out for Haley. Giant doses of Miralax for 2 days + a liquid diet = one grossed out Mom. And still no screw! Friday's Xray showed it had moved & Dr. said another day or two. Great, that meant Jason would be there to dig through diapers! Of course not. Monday was the big day, said her bottom hurt a few times and then after one more diaper dig, there was the screw. No, I didn't save it.

 

 

Some of Haley's reaction to the screw:

Me, "Haley, we never ever put anything in our mouth, except food"

Haley, "And suckers!"

 

Jason, "Haley, it scares Mommy & Daddy when you do things like that"

Haley jumps and yells, "BOO! I scare you!"