AP Moment of the day ~ life is a very fragile thing..

..or, what not to do when your son starts to choke as you sit at the dinner table.

Sheesh... what an evening. Little boys ( and girls ) with Downs syndrome have a tendency to not chew their food very well. Tonight at the table Mister Jack suddenly sat bolt upright and grabbed for a glass of water. He frantically started trying to drink whilst gasping and gagging. I jumped up as did hubby, and we both rushed to his aid. Jackster was very scared and so was I. My first instinct was to turn him upside down and pat on his back, but a) he's HUGE and heavy and b) he didn't WANT me to turn him upside down.... He was scared and gagging. I tried to reach into his mouth to pull out the food meanwhile hubby was trying to put him over his knee to pound on his back... Jessie had run off into the living room crying and I kept saying "I'm scared!!! I'm SCARED!!!" Poor little Jack...!! I managed to get my finger into his throat being careful to not push the food any further down his throat and my finger and his gag reflex got the food out.

* breathe.... breathe *

...Oh boy. I don't wish that kind of panic on anybody. I don't usually panic so badly, but this was my boy and I could tell how frightened he was. When it was all over he looked with concern at his plate of remaining food and we decided perhaps a banana would be a wiser option. We asked him if he was OK and he said he "thought he was killed"!! ( Bless him!!) He explained as best he could, that he had put some food in his mouth and instead of going in his tummy it stuck in his throat. He then started to cry some more and said " And Mummy is MAD...! " awww...poor little guy. I reassured him that far from being mad, I was very scared and now I am very happy that he is OK...... He decided that perhaps he would eat his banana whilst sitting on my lap :)

For the rest of the evening Jack was hyper! He was talking and singing, jumping around and laughing, full of the joys of living. As well he should be.

Soup. Soup every day for the rest of our lives. From now on!!!