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I just got home back from the ER. It wasn't even my shift, I was helping out a colleague of mine because we're at respiratory disease peak season, and ER consults go through the roof in this time of the year. For a small hospital with only 16 beds, we get about 110 consults on the ER each day, usually seen by a single MD who's on duty for 24 hours and then, the next day, does clinic duty for 8 hours. It's pretty nerve-wracking, so why not help out a colleague with the hard work, huh?...
Or so I thought.
16:00, ER room 3. I was seeing a patient and I hear a commotion. I excuse myself and take a peek outside. A child is being carried in the arms of his mother. The kid isn't older than two years old. He's flaccid and cyanotic (the skin turns of a purple-bluish shade because of the lack of oxygen).
I rush to the mom.
"Doctor, please help us! He was playing with his toy car less than 5 minutes ago, I went to get a coffee to my kitchen and he was seizing when I got back! Help my boy!..."
I rip the kid from his mother's arms and rush him to the CPR box. He's got a pulse. He's not breathing spontaneously. I run. And I'm a tall motherfucker, I'm 6'3". I'm on the CPR box on 3 hops. As I go, I shout the words no physician or EMT wants to hear on an ER shift:
CALL A CODE!!!
Soon, my colleague, a nurse, some EMTs and the doula, who was seeing a patient nearby in the maternity room just across the hall, rush in.
"Male, about 2 years old, was playing with a toycar about 5 mins ago, mom found him seizing after she lost sight of him for a moment. Steady pulse at 60 x minute, no spontaneous breathing."
We begin, as per guidelines, CPR. Since I was the first medical responder, I took charge of the kid's airway. I extend his head to a "sniffing" possition. I open his mouth and check for any foreign object that may be obstructing the airway. I see nothing. So I begun giving him assisted breathing with an Ambu bag.
2 breaths. His chest rises, but there's a weird noise coming from his throat.
![[image loading]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpyPBpyxAZQ/T6FoVGqZ7cI/AAAAAAAAC6Y/n9gRYHurako/s1600/ambu.jpg) This is an Ambu bag, for those not familiar with the medical jargon.
As my colleague takes charge of the CPR team, he begins stating instructions for everyone involved. Kid had a pulse after the first set of measures so an IV line was estasblished, I begun giving rescue breaths with the ambu bag, but there was that noise bugging all of us. I waited for mandatory check-up that comes after the 1st 2 minute cycle of measures and had a laryncoscope prepared to check the kid's throat. Medications to knock him unconscious were being prepared in case I needed to intubate him.
![[image loading]](http://equipstat.com/Products/images/Laryngoscope-Handles-L.jpg)
This is a laryngoscope.
So the mandatory check-up comes. I take the Ambu mask off and open up the airway. Take the laryngoscope and take a peek in his throat.
There it was. Right at the base of the tongue.
A rather large carwheel.
I ask for forceps. I take the carwheel out.
Kid coughes vigorously and breathes spontaneously.
At that point. I breathe.
Her mom sighs. Then cries and rushes to hold her son.
"Good call", says my colleague.
A young boy lives on.
The moral to this story:
If a toy comes with a label that says something like this:
![[image loading]](http://free4illustrator.com/wp-content/uploads/bg.jpg) Choking hazzard!!!!!!!
ALWAYS think of your child and don't let your kids have those kind of toys.
That kid could have died today because of a toy which wasn't meant to be used by him.
Thank you for reading.
 
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United States24604 Posts
Thank you for sharing this, and kudos to you for your good work!
Yea it annoys me how people always think warnings aren't for them... for some reason.
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Choking on something is one of my major fears, the thought of being helpless while you cannot breathe makes me shudder. Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work.
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"But my kids aren't stupid."
Insert Kappa, nice story, why didn't he barf?
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
Sick story
Props for all the good work that you do =]
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This is like a continuation of a Snet story with the blanks filled in and Trauma center narration.
Nice, this is cool!
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On July 07 2012 10:25 Hnnngg wrote:
"But my kids aren't stupid."
Insert Kappa, nice story, why didn't he barf?
*Warning: Don't open the spoiler if you get grossed out by reading... uh... gross stuff.*
+ Show Spoiler +He had a little residual vomit on his airway which means he probably did vomit prior to his arrival. He also didn't vomit while extracting the car wheel because he was sedated in order to do the laryngoscopy safely.
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Man, you are a hero, just like every doctor in the world. I've mad respect for this proffession.
Are you in Chile? It's winter in the south hemisphere and here where I live the weather is crazy. Before yesterday we had 27ºC weather, today 8ºC.
Can't even blame the body for getting sick  (
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5/5 nuff said.
I hope you doctors get paid enough. I would go insane being on the job for 12+ hours.
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Great story 5/5. I hope it saves another life.
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On July 07 2012 10:30 Torte de Lini wrote:
This is like a continuation of a Snet story with the blanks filled in and Trauma center narration.
Nice, this is cool!
I love Snet stories.
Keep up the good work UmbraaeternuS, blog and job wise 
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Blogs like this always make me incredibly grateful that people like you exist. You guys are heroes.
<3 Thanks for sharing.
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5/5 I hope this will prevent the need for you to save lives in cases such as this. Really i don't care if you think your kid is the next einstein, if he is under the age on the label don't give it too him, at least in cases of life threatening potential. Speaking as someone who has dealt with stuff like this (long time boy scout and active volunteer) giving a kid something like that at that age is a stupid idea, in any circumstance.
Good blog thanks for sharing
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Harro  gj
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Holy crap, you saved a boy's life! Good job, so happy for you and the boy. :D
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I really hate how a lot of people disregard warnings like that. People regard the alcohol warnings more than these warnings which really bugs me. Why do people think that their kid is so special that he couldn't possibly fall into the pitfalls of dying to a choking hazard  .
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On July 07 2012 10:28 Plexa wrote:
Sick story
Props for all the good work that you do =]
Wrong time to use that pun!
Good read 5/5.
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Ares[Effort]
DEMACIA6550 Posts
The feeling you must have felt after you saved him must be unimaginable. Great blog, thanks for sharing!
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Things like these stories is one of the many reasons I wanna be a doctor. Thank you for all the work you do!
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The laryngoscope looks like a weapon from diablo 3. It even has a light emitting from the end...like it's fire enchanted or something.
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Well done! You're a hero
It's amazing how many adults think that they don't need to pay attention to warning labels. Sigh.
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5/5 for you, Mr. Hero!
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yeah. seriously. if anyone here ever has children, or is in the position of caring for an infant or toddler or anyone under five years old, they will put everything they can fit into their mouth.
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I find more interesting this blog than those ER TV shows .
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Damn, only one guy working in ER for 24 hours straight? How can that person even think straight past the 12th hour lol. Why does your hospital not cycle MDs for 8 hour shifts in the ER or something like that?
Anyways, all the more power to you, staying at work to help someone out and saving a life in the process. 5/5
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Yeah man, its seriously crazy how dedicated a person has to be to NOT ONLY become a Doctor, but also PERFORM as one.
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you're a true hero,
great story
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I'm curious, if this happened in USA, would a trip to the hospital for something like this cost anything?
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On July 07 2012 16:45 razorsuKe wrote:
I'm curious, if this happened in USA, would a trip to the hospital for something like this cost anything?
I'm not that informed on costs and such (woohoo HS don't have to pay for bills and shit) but I'm pretty sure ER is free.
Would be kind of ridiculous to force people to pay for something that is a last minute life saver.
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So.. when you shit do you look down at your shit and think " my shit is better than other shit".
Cuz you should. You have hero shits. Because youre a hero. You shit is better than most out there man.
I am so impressed. Like... you saved a life, a child's life. You probably do it all the time so you don't even know how fucking awesome that is.
Go to the bar - and proceed to pick up any woman in there. Simply say, I shit hero shits, and I saved a life today. That mom better bring you a nice Chilean red wine tomorrow for saving her son. And some shitting reading material for when you take your hero shits.
truly awesome. 5/5
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Wow. You are the true definition of a hero. So much respect for the kind of things you do. The epitome of a hero in the medical field. Actually a bit envious of the gall, intelligence, training, work, mindset, patience, reflex, courage, and everything else that must go into your job this way. Will never tire of reading your blog entries. Keep at it. Saving lives, inspiring people, and being all-around amazing.
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On July 07 2012 17:01 Antimatterz wrote:Show nested quote +On July 07 2012 16:45 razorsuKe wrote:
I'm curious, if this happened in USA, would a trip to the hospital for something like this cost anything? I'm not that informed on costs and such (woohoo HS don't have to pay for bills and shit) but I'm pretty sure ER is free. Would be kind of ridiculous to force people to pay for something that is a last minute life saver.
You're wrong. (Not about it being wrong, just about it being free.) In the U.S., there is no free healthcare without some kind of heavy duty paperwork. The ER won't let you die (they do have medical ethics in the doctors, nurses, and EMTs) but they will bill you afterwards. There are different programs and things that can help make those bills less or even go away, but that depends on the hospital, state, and any charities that may work with the hospitals. Most will try to work with you, but it's still expensive.
Even with good insurance, a trip to the ER will probably start at around $400, if my own experiences there are any kind of measure. In general, even with excellent health insurance, people in the United States are one major injury/illness away from bankruptcy.
Now, so I can avoid the potential of a discussion of US healthcare, let me reiterate something else. EMTs are fucking heros. So are nurses. Most doctors are as well. They work insane hours, deal with things most people couldn't imagine, and often do it while some asshat in an office is trying to figure out how to bill the insurance to the hilt. Many kudos for your lifesaving work, man.
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On July 07 2012 19:10 felisconcolori wrote:Show nested quote +On July 07 2012 17:01 Antimatterz wrote:On July 07 2012 16:45 razorsuKe wrote:
I'm curious, if this happened in USA, would a trip to the hospital for something like this cost anything? I'm not that informed on costs and such (woohoo HS don't have to pay for bills and shit) but I'm pretty sure ER is free. Would be kind of ridiculous to force people to pay for something that is a last minute life saver. You're wrong. (Not about it being wrong, just about it being free.) In the U.S., there is no free healthcare without some kind of heavy duty paperwork. The ER won't let you die (they do have medical ethics in the doctors, nurses, and EMTs) but they will bill you afterwards. There are different programs and things that can help make those bills less or even go away, but that depends on the hospital, state, and any charities that may work with the hospitals. Most will try to work with you, but it's still expensive. Even with good insurance, a trip to the ER will probably start at around $400, if my own experiences there are any kind of measure. In general, even with excellent health insurance, people in the United States are one major injury/illness away from bankruptcy. Now, so I can avoid the potential of a discussion of US healthcare, let me reiterate something else. EMTs are fucking heros. So are nurses. Most doctors are as well. They work insane hours, deal with things most people couldn't imagine, and often do it while some asshat in an office is trying to figure out how to bill the insurance to the hilt. Many kudos for your lifesaving work, man.
So god damn true...
ER costs a lot and hospital a can literally put people in debt for the rest of their life.
and hats off to the EMTs/Doctors/Nurses/Firemen
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On July 07 2012 17:01 Antimatterz wrote:Show nested quote +On July 07 2012 16:45 razorsuKe wrote:
I'm curious, if this happened in USA, would a trip to the hospital for something like this cost anything? I'm not that informed on costs and such (woohoo HS don't have to pay for bills and shit) but I'm pretty sure ER is free. Would be kind of ridiculous to force people to pay for something that is a last minute life saver.
In my country the ER isn't free. You don't have to pay right away but believe me you get a bill  ..
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You saved a life. I could only dream to be as awesome as people like you .
5/5 for being a hero!
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Good read and so true. I as a father of 1 boy am constantly checking if he has found something small to played with, until he really can understand what he can or cannot put inside his mouth I will take them away from him as soon as possible. 5/5
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On July 07 2012 14:13 Gene wrote:
yeah. seriously. if anyone here ever has children, or is in the position of caring for an infant or toddler or anyone under five years old, they will put everything they can fit into their mouth.
xD thats so true, i work with under 5's and jesus they'll eat anything.
Great blog, amazing really, props to you!
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Props for saving a life man. The problem is that the people suffering are the children if their parents are so irresponsible and ignore the warnings on the box. Those people should be punished for their stupidity, not their kids.
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Although saving a life is far more lauded and eventful, writing these blogs and doing public outreach about medical issues can be just as effective. Way to go man.
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of topic but how long can a child that age have trouble breathing before recieving braindamage?
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Your a true hero man.
I bet that kid will want to become just like you when he grows up.
Got goosebumps from the story, great save!
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Sick story. That feeling you must have had after rescuing the boy is the reason why I pursuit medical profession.
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Great job man. I always thought the chance of something bad happening to a kid is much smaller than mothers are afraid. But this story just shows how important the part with toys is.
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Wow. That must be an awesome feeling to literally save a person's life. Great job!
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Incredible. You are amazing.
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As a lifeguard who's trained to deal with this kind of shit all I can say is great job man, keep up the amazing work!
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On July 07 2012 12:04 Ares[Effort] wrote:
The feeling you must have felt after you saved him must be unimaginable. Great blog, thanks for sharing!
Well, don't they save lives more often? Although every time you save a life must keep feeling good (especially a 2 year old).
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this should receive more attention imo
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I love this part "I run. And I'm a tall motherfucker, I'm 6'3". I'm on the CPR box on 3 hops" .
Thank you for your work Doctor, I'm sure with all of the patients you've treated you must be seen as a hero to many! Come to think of it there are probably tons of under-appreciated jobs. But anyways hope you get some rest
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Wow scary but great story. Amazing saving a life must be quite the feeling. Thanks for all your hard work.
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On July 08 2012 00:27 NEEDZMOAR wrote:
of topic but how long can a child that age have trouble breathing before recieving braindamage?
It depends. It's universally accepted that 5 minutes of hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) generates a variable amount of brain damage, although children often may tolerate larger periods of hypoxia without any consequences.
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Great blog yo. Thanks for sharing.
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Awesome work man! Next time I swallow a car I'm gonna know exactly how to proceed. Also you mentioned taking off an Ambu mask? How long before the head surgeon convinces you to murder the rest of your colleagues for the good of the hospital?
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thanks for sharing, good work
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I always find myself impressed with people who work in the ER. Not only does it take a great deal of training to be prepared for all of the different kinds of situations one could face, it also requires one to be able to perform complex procedures under pressure.
Good job OP, hopefully the mother will learn from this ordeal and will make sure to prevent something like this from happening again.
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i really enjoy your blogs, even though the story had the potential to go wrong
good job! here i am with medical ambitions and i still couldnt picture myself doing such a thing
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Short and sweet, I like it
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Omg... I was listening to creepy music on iPod when reading this... make a very dry taste in my mouth. 5/5 Congrats for saving a life!
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On July 08 2012 11:46 Blackhawk13 wrote:
wtf is a cpr box
We call "box" to a specific hospital room.
"CPR box" is what we call the ER's "reanimation and trauma management" room.
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gj man, you are a good sir indeed.
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On July 07 2012 12:04 Ares[Effort] wrote:
The feeling you must have felt after you saved him must be unimaginable. Great blog, thanks for sharing!
Probably gets knocked out by the kids/lives that come threw that are unable to be saved... Hard work.
5/5 blog, great job
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Nice story, glad to hear a happy ending. Thanks for sharing
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GJ to the OP
On the other hand, shit parenting, as usual in most cases like this.
I suppose the parent's response to this, instead of looking in the mirror, was "the government should do X about this!". Wonder who she'd have sued if he died. There is no responsibility left in this world. If anyone should have a finger pointed at them, its the mother. Sure you can leave for a coffee, but if you don't look at what you buy, you should face the consequences of endangering your child.
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Japan11285 Posts
The laryngoscope looks like a mini-scythe or a kusarigama.
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Great blog. Thanks for all you do. On duty 24 hours, jesus. I get tired after standing for 6. And I don't even work hard
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Christ, my heart is racing just from reading about it. Nice work, keep it up .
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Good work! Your day was infinitely more productive than mine I have lots of respect for the fact that there are people that not only know how to deal with those situation, but also have made the choice to do so as their job (and all the responsibility and consequences that come with it).
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5/5, como siempre.
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Very nice and interesting read, thanks for contributing this to the community, I think a lot of people forget to think that this type of thing happens all the time, thanks for the heads up!
God bless~
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On July 07 2012 17:01 Antimatterz wrote:Show nested quote +On July 07 2012 16:45 razorsuKe wrote:
I'm curious, if this happened in USA, would a trip to the hospital for something like this cost anything? I'm not that informed on costs and such (woohoo HS don't have to pay for bills and shit) but I'm pretty sure ER is free. Would be kind of ridiculous to force people to pay for something that is a last minute life saver.
In the US, if you actually need a visit to the ER chances are your life is over finantially. They have one of the worst health care systems on the planet.
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Great job saving his life and I agree, those labels are there for a reason.
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The pic of the laryngoscope is going to give me nightmares for awhile.
Pretty awesome story, thanks for sharing that.
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Awesome job, thanks for sharing. I always wonder whether I'll be able to react accordingly when something like this happens in my watch. I like the ER a lot so I'll probably spend lots of time there, but the first shifts alone are gonna be fucking scary as shit.
On July 07 2012 10:34 fabiano wrote:Man, you are a hero, just like every doctor in the world. I've mad respect for this proffession. Are you in Chile? It's winter in the south hemisphere and here where I live the weather is crazy. Before yesterday we had 27ºC weather, today 8ºC. Can't even blame the body for getting sick (
We're having a "polar wave" as they call it here, temperatures right now are around -1°C in Santiago in a normal day going up to 10-15°C during the afternoon.
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I wanna make a blog about how I saved the world once.
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You saved that little boys life.
I logged in just to show my love for you and people like you all over the world, our unsung heroes xx
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5/5 good story and well written.
when i started reading i was expecting him to have the whole car in his throat thoughXD
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Wow... I was like shaking while I read that. I have a 9 week old daughter... I will definitely be super vigilant.
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CA10824 Posts
i'm starting clinic next year and although in most cases i won't be in your particular situation, hopefully i will be able to have interesting stories about saving lives and limbs as well in the future!
great job, stories like these are truly inspiring and keep me motivated to study!
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GOod job man! Will remember this when i ever get kids ..
damn reading this is almost stressing, i cant imagine having your job.. and thats from perspective of someone in
leading multiple restaurants etc.
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Great job
My daughter is 20 months old and this is my worst nightmare. My wife thinks I am paranoid because I am always checking her toys to make sure they don't easily break into smaller pieces. Going to make sure she reads this later.
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Excellent work Umbra, you're the man! Don't forget that.
*edit* Also ,can't help but feel I'm wasting my life when I read something like this.
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Thanks for sharing sir, great blog!
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I haven't had that much experience interacting with really young children. Do they have an idea of what is and isn't a toy? Maybe brighter coolers vs bland coolers? Or will they just grab and play with anything they can get their hands on? If it is the latter then that's pretty scary considering a child might choke on all sorts of small objects if left alone for even a moment.
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On July 10 2012 07:31 BearStorm wrote:
I haven't had that much experience interacting with really young children. Do they have an idea of what is and isn't a toy? Maybe brighter coolers vs bland coolers? Or will they just grab and play with anything they can get their hands on? If it is the latter then that's pretty scary considering a child might choke on all sorts of small objects if left alone for even a moment.
Children at that age have such a vivid imagination that they will play with a fucking lego brick thinking it's a fighter jet .
So please, let your children play with safe toys only. It's scary to think the amount of kids who die (yes, children DIE because of this stupid things) because their parents thought their kid was smart enough to play with a little thing that he "was never going to chew on..."
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you are a fucking hero, thank you for your contribution to society man !!!! I love stories like this
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I could not agree more, we see way too much of this everyday.
Writing up stuff like this always gets me paranoid about HIPAA even though 1. there is not HIPAA in Chile =P and 2. there's absolutely no personal data here. I'm always scared of the crazies with great lawyers <.<
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What a hero. You made me think about becoming a doctor.
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Very nice, great job man! Saving a life must feel awesome! Stupid parents are stupid but thankfully we've got docs like you!
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On July 08 2012 05:15 UmbraaeternuS wrote:Show nested quote +On July 08 2012 00:27 NEEDZMOAR wrote:
of topic but how long can a child that age have trouble breathing before recieving braindamage? It depends. It's universally accepted that 5 minutes of hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) generates a variable amount of brain damage, although children often may tolerate larger periods of hypoxia without any consequences.
Thank you for the answer and I salute you for saving lives, must feel pretty good!
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EPT
