Poison Control Again?

It is Wednesday night and I am doing my best to make dinner after an extremely long day at work.  I get the kids their plates and they have at it.  Vance and Elsa do a respectable job eating their dinner, which is surprising.  Owen has a few bites, but has wandered off to the kitchen to put his milk away.

It's at times like this I am glad I am not on a reality television show.  I wouldn't want other parents judging my lack of parenting when it comes to keeping my kids at the table.  I try to keep them sitting down until everyone has finished.  But, to be honest, sometimes it's more of a hassle than I think is necessary.

So, Owen is putting his milk away, but has not yet come back.  It's been maybe 45 seconds.  But, 45 seconds is a lot for Owen.  In those 45 seconds, he was able to open the child proof lock on the utensil drawer and pull out the candy thermometer.  In the five seconds it took me to get to the kitchen to check on him, he managed to chew the end off of the candy thermometer, glass and all.

I take one look at him and see his red mouth.  Blood?  Or, worse.  Mercury?  Both.  I put him on the counter and try to get him to rinse out his mouth with water.  He swallows it instead.  Argh!  Okay, I need to be rational.  How bad is this?  Really.

I get his mouth open and notice there are only a few cuts on his tongue and lip from the thermometer glass.  The more urgent matter is how much of the red mercury he swallowed.  I immediately call Peter at work to see whether I should call Poison Control or take him straight to the ER.  I am on hold for what seems like forever.  I am antsy.  I can't wait around forever.  Owen could be dying from the poisonous mercury he swallowed.

I hang up and call Mark.  Peter and Mark know everything about everything.  He will know what to do.  Besides, he's a doctor.  Well, dentist, but they're basically the same.  Before Mark even has a chance to say hello, I rush in with, "Owen has swallowed mercury from a thermometer.  Do I need to take him to the ER?"  His answer?  "Yes, get him to the ER right away."

So, of course my anxiety has quadrupled.  It's one thing when I make things worse in my mind than they are in real life.  It's another when Mark is telling me this is urgent.  I quickly get Owen into his room to get pants on (we are potty training and he is wearing only underpants).  I call Mike and Shanon in hopes that they can come and stay with Vance and Elsa, who are still sitting at the table like angels.  No answer.

I am just about to get everyone in the car when I notice Mark has called back and left a voicemail.  It must have been when I was trying to reach Mike and Shanon.  Without checking the voicemail, I call him back.  His first question to me is what color is the mercury.  It's red, duh!  That's not mercury.  That is a red alcohol used in thermometers.  Mercury is silver.  I don't need to worry.  Owen is not going to die.

My first reaction is to break down on the floor.  I can't help it.  All of the adrenaline and fear and relief from the past five minutes has caught up with me and my body lets it all go by sobbing on the floor.  Owen comes up to me and hugs me and tells me he loves me.  And, the world is right again.  I hug him for the rest of the night.  And, when he wants to get into bed with me instead of going to sleep in his bed that night, I let him.