The saga of the swallowed coin.....

A few weeks ago now I returned home from a 20 minute trip to shop to catch the tail-end of a commotion.

Rick was consoling Alex who was looking very sorry for herself. When I asked what was wrong she told me that she swallowed money! Well, I know kids swallow all sorts of things so after a quick assessment realised she was physically ok which was a relief. Rick said that she was coughing and choking a bit in the other room and he called out and asked if she was ok and she replied 'yes' but then came out to him with wide eyes and informed him of her latest snack!

She was still able to eat and drink so I knew it had gone down to her stomach. I called the nurse-on-call - which by the way, is a fantastic service!! I have never used it before and was very impressed. It was just nice to get some reassurance that what you have done is the right thing. She told me to just inspect her poos for the next 3 or so days as it should pass. At this point we thought it was a 5c coin - but then getting a history from a 2 year old isn't exactly easy.

Well, a week had passed and poo-patrol was getting a little tiresome! So I booked her in at work for an abdo xray and then booked her in to our GP to get the referral. Would you believe this was her VERY FIRST visit to the doctor?!! She is nearly 3 and her first doctor visit was for a swallowed coin! Hmmmm!!!

Anyway.... here is the Xray:



As you can see there is a big whopper coin sitting right in her belly. It looked bigger than a 5c piece which raised some concern about obstruction etc. I took her back to the GP that afternoon and she suggested I take her into the Children's Hospital the next day to either have it removed via endoscope or for further review. Alex however, wouldn't leave the surgery until she had been examined on the bed. She said 'we can't go yet, I am not better yet' and demanded her examination! What a hoot!

So, in we go all the way to town. They were fantastic though - we waited in ED for less than 10 minutes before being called in. The doctor immediately said that they wouldn't do anything at this stage and would just let it go. But took the xray and consulted with his registrar. He came back with the same advice. I was a little annoyed actually as he told me that there was no need to check her poo anymore and just to 'let it go'. I was instructed to bring her back IF she got ill, had bleeding, distended abdo etc etc.

This just didn't sit right with me as there was no way I was going to 'leave it' and not check her poo! I wanted to know when the thing was gone!

Anyway, a very disappointed Alex and I left. She was absolutely loving the attention she was getting!!

When I got home I did a little bit of research and found that the general concensus was that coins shouldn't be in the gut for longer than 3 weeks (It had now been 10 days when we went to the hospital). I feared it getting stuck in her bowel and needing an operation so I was going to wait till the 3 week mark and then take her back.

Well low and behold, 2.5 weeks after ingesting this bloody coin she passed it!! (on the day my sister gave birth!) A very black, corroded TEN CENT coin came out. It must have been a bit sore as she was saying over dinner that 'her belly was talking to her and telling her she didn't want to eat'. Awwwww.

Now she is very proud and doesn't hesitate to tell people that her tummy is a money box and the coins come out of her bottom!!!



*don't worry - the coin has been cleaned, disinfected and cleaned again!