Friday while I was talking with one of my sisters on the phone Nate ran into the room and looked at me with really big eyes.   It was apparent by the look in his eyes that something was wrong.  It all happened so quick but I asked him what was wrong, then noticed an odd gagging noise and asked him if he was choking.  He nodded his head yes and I dropped the phone and ran to him.  He has been going through a growth spurt lately and it seems he has gotten so big, until I had to do the Heimlich maneuver on him, then he seemed so small.  I leaned him against my leg and hip and gave three quick thrusts but couldn't remove the lemon drop he was choking on.  So many thoughts were running through my head rather quickly, he's depending on me to remove this, what if I can't get it out,  why did I let him have a lemon drop. I called Hailey to come call 911 because it occurred to me that it would be better to have help coming if I couldn't get it out.  Then I took a breath, imagined the demonstrations of the Heimlich maneuver I'd seen and repositioned my hands.  After repositioning my hands, giving another quick squeeze, hearing the lemon drop hit the floor, and yelling "stop dialing" to Hailey, I turned that skinny kid around and gave him the biggest hug. 

Later, I thanked Nate for coming to find me and for staying calm. I thanked Hailey for staying calm, and for responding quickly.  After showing the kids what to do when a person is choking, I made a reminder to myself to sign up for a  first aid class.   This time it was choking and although I hope there are no more emergencies I want to be prepared...just in case.