Hes choking!

     The sun has set and any moment now the fireworks are going to light the sky.  I know Darrell is excited and I feel myself filling with anticipation and child like wonder as we wait.  Darrell who is 6 is bouncing on his fathers knee eating cookies and I'm getting the camera ready hoping to snap a photo when the sky first lights of Darrell's little face.  Suddenly I see my husband jump up slightly and reach out to grab our son as he makes a mad dash into the crowd.  He turns our 6 year old around to ask whats wrong (Darrell has a nasty habbit of running off to hide when hes hurt himself).  That's when I saw his face, the brightness of it as he attempted to gasp for breath, one of his little hands reach up to grasp his throat as the other attempts to dislodge whatever is blocking him from breathing.

"hes not breathing" i screamed.  Those moments of silence from my son, no gasp, no cough, just silence will remain the scariest sound i've never heard.  I'd love to tell you I reacted, that I grabbed him and dislodged the piece of cookie stuck in his throat, but instead I sat there and watched as my whole world seemed to crumble.  I don't know how it is for other mothers but my life has only seemed to start the day my son was laid in my arms and now here it was showing me how fragile that world is.

Two men reacted quickly, one grabbing Darrell and quickly preforming the heimlich while the other assisted.  I grabbed my son and scooped him into my arms as he began to cough up cookie.  One man faded into the crowd like it wasn't a big deal at all, never even stopping for me to give him thanks and the other embarrassingly brushed off our gratitude and rejoined his family for the show.  Darrell, ever the trooper watched the fireworks with glee as I cried, held him, and watched him in awe.  A simple moment, 2 men acting on their training and instincts, and my world was forever changed.  If anyone reading knows these men my thanks is simply not enough, you saved my world.


Note to the reader:  Darrell is fine, no bruising from the heimlich, no tenderness in his throat and hes forgotten the whole thing, He has sworn off that brand of cookie tho, lol.   I on the other hand continue to have nightmares.