Drama at Baby's school

"I vomited five times and Mr. X ( one of the teachers) put his finger down my throat."

That’s Baby’s description of the drama that unfolded at her school today.

I initially phoned the school to let them know that Baby was not going to stay for aftercare this Friday.

We made plans for her to play with one of her friends, and the mother was going to pick them both up. The school would not let Baby go unless I called to let them know of the day’s plan.

What I didn’t know was that during my phone call, by some twist of very strange fate, Baby was choking on a hard, round candy.

She was rolling the sweet in her mouth, sucking on it when it slipped down her throat, blocking the passage. She tried to swallow and drank water to help it along, but it stayed stuck.

That’s when she panicked and was eventually taken to the head mistress’ office, where Mrs RG and her admin staff attempted to dislodge it.

About ten minutes after the call, the administrator I informed of Baby’s afternoon plans phoned.

“Mrs RG asked me to phone to inform you that we had a crisis with Baby [real name], but the situation has been resolved,” she said.

Heart in my throat, I asked what happened. Surely they wouldn’t call unless the situation was bad.

“She’s fine,” the woman reassured me. “ We just felt you should know that she choked on a sweet, but we managed to get it out of her and she’s fine.”

Right!

I could read a lot of tension in her voice, so I started rattling off questions:

“Should I come pick up her up from school right now?”
“Can she keep up with her planned schedule including a play date with a friend this afternoon?”
“Does she need medical attention?”

No, yes, no, she said.

“She’s fine, just a bit unsettled,” the admin insisted.

Baby’s throat is irritated, and she was slow eating dinner. Even swallowing juice was difficult. But she was in good spirits; she even managed to beat me at Pictionary.