Monday, October 6, 2008

A Scare

This morning just after breakfast I was in the office working and I heard a funny coughing sort of noise coming from the kitchen. I called out "are you alright?" Then I heard the running of little feet. 

Lauren emerged from the hall silent and with a face of terror. Her hand was raised to her throat. She slipped on the tile floor as she turned to run to me. She fell with a thud to the ground. The fall was a blessing because it dislodged the object in her throat enough that she began to cry. Still the object was not cleared. She began gagging over and over. 

She was eating a chewable vitamin C pill. Only she hadn't chewed. With a bit of water it moved down enough to stop her gagging. She was traumatized by the event until the pill finally moved all the way down to her belly about 2 hours later. 

There were a few moments of terror in all of our hearts this morning. We were once again reminded at how easily life can be taken from this world. We were also reminded that we have angels watching over us, tripping us up when necessary for our own good. And we were reminded that God does not allow children to die when it is not their appointed time. 

All of us in this family have felt the gratitude we ought to for life and the protection of a loving God today. Life is not always easy but it is always a gift worth treasuring. 

20 comments:

Barrett, Melinda, Angel Trinity, and Baby Zander said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Barrett, Melinda, Angel Trinity, and Baby Zander said...

that's a scare you don't need again...I'm glad things ended up good in this situation. Life is extremely fragile...

Rebecca said...

That must have been scary. Your little angel Camille must have been watching over her big sister. I am glad this had a good outcome. It makes you realize that life is a precious gift and not to take it for granted.....

Anonymous said...

Hugs and hugs. Scary.

Love

Jane

Shanan said...

oh Steph, I'm so sorry you had this scare.

Catherine Noorda said...

woah that is really scary. i'm so glad everything turned out ok. we love lauren! no more vitamins for her :)

my stay-at-home-momma drama said...

Oh my, how scary! Choking can be such a terrifying event. After my daughter's choking incident, I brushed up on my knowledge of CPR, response to choking, etc. I think I may even post some links on my blog for parents. Everyone should brush up on these skills. Let this be our friendly little reminder. I'm so glad everything was o.k.

Maggie May said...

I'm sorry you had this scare, i've had the same scare before with my daughter.

Susan Anderson said...

Choking is scary, period. And it's crazy what kids can actually choke over. (I'm going to go read the post on Lisa's blog and send it to my kids!)

So glad all is well.

=)

Kate said...

I am so sorry - how scary. I can't imagine the terrible feeling.

Melissa-Mc said...

How scary! I thought of you and your family during Elder Holland's talk in conference about angels.

Sarah said...

How scary! I am glad Lauren is okay. How blessed we are to have angels all around us.

Anonymous said...

Oh, that IS scary! I'm so glad it turned out okay and she is recovering. I never would have expected a child to choke like that on a little pill... A big piece of meat or a toy maybe, but a little pill? How odd.

I found your comment: "...God does not allow children to die when it is not their appointed time" to be very interesting. I often ponder about how much God intervenes and when. Especially in violent situations where someone is exercising their agency to commit crimes.

Those situations make me suspect that sometimes children do die when it is not their appointed time or God's will. How do you work that kind of thing out in your mind, Stephanie? Do you truly believe that every child who has ever died is at his/her appointed time? (I'm thinking wars, child abuse, abortions, etc. here). As far as I know, that is not official church doctrine, so I'm guessing it's your opinion?

Anonymous said...

I have experienced these kind of situations many times in my life. Like your blog they are a wake up call to me. They give me the opportunity to see the big picture. My daughter has severe food allergies and has nearly died three times. I have also had to help a toddler who nearly drowned. These experiences are seared into my heart and mind. I hope to never take lightly our precious babies. Kim Meechudhone

Beckstrand7 said...

Whew, I'm glad all is well with her. For future reference, I've found for myself, if I get a "horse pill" (the big ones) stuck in my throat like that now, instead of panicking, I eat a bite of bread (no toppings) and swallow it - it usually pushes the pill down with it...may or may not have worked with Lauren. We're ever thankful for the miracles that do come our way, DAILY! "Appointed" is the key word here!n Thanks for all your sharing, it's meant a lot to me.

Mimi's Toes said...

Oh, thank God she was protected. It must have been so scary.

Tara Bennett said...

Life is certainly fragile. So glad everyone's ok in your little household, though!

Erin Lafleur said...

Thank you for your comments. I really needed to here them today. Especially when you said "And we were reminded that God does not allow children to die when it is not their appointed time." We just got a call releasing my sons cause of death after 6 months of waiting and I was crushed with feelings that I could have saved him if I would have acted sooner. Reading your comment reminded me of the gospel truthes. Others remind me of them but it means more coming from another mommy with a broken heart. THANK YOU

Stephanie Waite said...

To Heidi,

Let me clarify "appointed time" a bit more. God is all knowing right? He knows what choices we will make before we make them. He also chooses which spirit children to send to which parents and where. This is all fairly standard doctrine.

Modern prophets (Joseph Smith and J F Smith and J Fielding Smith) have said that every child who dies prior to the age of accountability is saved in the celestial kingdom and will have the opportunity in the millennium to marry and obtain the highest degree of exaltation. I can get you quotes to that effect if you like.

So my personal leap is that God does not send spirits to any place or parent where they will meet an early death unless that spirit is worthy of the celestial kingdom. While accidents and tragedies and sins occur, they do not surprise the Lord. So that and the passages on people being sick and being healed in section 45 of the D and C lead me to believe that those children who die before the age of accountability were appointed to do so even before they came here.

So in a way it is my personal theory but it is based upon fundamental doctrines. If I am wrong, that is okay. I have been wrong plenty of times before. I think Camille's case is covered by the sections in the D and C. And I feel certain that the timing of her life death was appointed to her long before her birth or mine.

Stephanie

jimnalli said...

I commented on another one of your posts...I dont know you, but I am glad you're daughter is ok! you have such a way with words! "tripping us up when necessary for our own good!" I am so thankful for your blog..you are so positive! you could have written .."and on top of choking..she even Tripped too, what a terrible day!!!"
But instead, you are so positive and look for the blessings that surround our lives. It really is amazing the blessings we can find when we look for the Lord's hand in our lives...He really is there.
I am glad to hear your emotional state is doing better.