Seamus got into Teresa's art set, which she keeps in a little basket on her school shelf, along with her other school supplies. When this basket is pushed all the way back on the deep shelf, he cannot reach it. We have now discovered that when it is not pushed all the way back, and he is on his tip-toes, he can reach it. There is one toxic supply (similar to paint thinner) in her little basket, which has a child-proof cap on it. In the time it took us to get across the room to take the art set away from Seamus, he had tipped this bottle into his mouth, with cap ON, as if to take a drink. Well, the problem with that was the cap leaked (ya, so much for child safety!) and he ingested some. (Afterwards, we discovered that even with cap on, if tipped upside down, the substance practically poured out!). The second unfortunate thing was that the toxic substance was odor free (and taste free - Mike tasted a tiny bit on his finger afterwards). Our pickiest of picky eaters would most likely had spit it out instantly had it tasted bad. But it had no odor or taste, so he swallowed it. The chemical causes lung damage. Immediately, Seamus started coughing, non-stop, so we took him to the ER. Within about 30 minutes after arriving at Saint Mary's, he had stopped coughing and his lung x-ray looked good. They observed him for two more hours and we went home.
Here he is at St. Mary's, getting his oxygen stat (which was normal).
Just after arriving home, at about 10:30 pm, he started coughing again, just a little bit. At 3 am, he had a fever. We called and they said to bring him right in to Saint Vincent's. He threw up in the waiting room, which was probably a good thing. The second x-ray showed some lung irritation so they admitted him, worried about chemical pneumonia. (Sometimes there can be a delayed reaction with this type of thing). His oxygen stats and blood work were normal. His condition (fever, tired, no cough, a little irritable) stayed the same all day on Friday while at St. Vincent's, so they let him come home, hopeful that the worst was over.
Here he is, just prior to leaving St. Vincents...
Now, we watch him through the weekend, and take him back on Monday. (In that time, I made the mistake of googling "swallowed paint thinner" and "chemical pneumonia" Yikes!) So, with this sort of thing, the pneumonia can develop later and when it does, it can be fast and serious. (This substance is a thin oil, which even when swallowed normally, can get into the lung tissue very easily). They did say he should have no long-term lung damage from the actual chemical, so that is good. So, we continue to pray that the oil/irritation in his lungs does not develop into pneumonia. We are not "out of the woods" but the longer he goes without developing an infection, the better. He still has a fever this morning (caused from the irritation, not an infection). He is playing and cheerful, so that is hopeful! If you would, please say a prayer that Seamus does not develop a cough or a higher fever over these next two days. Thanks!!!
