On Monday when we were getting ready to leave my in-law’s house to go back home, Brinley found a stray pill and decided it was candy and chewed it. Turns out it was Toprol XL, which my mother-in-law takes for her heart. When Michele discovered what Brinley had done, she tried to clean out her mouth and then called for me. I rushed her into the bathroom and forcibly rinsed her mouth out as much as I could while Michele called the Illinois Poison Control Center. They advised that we get Brinley to a doctor immediately because Toprol is quite dangerous, even in small amounts, for someone Brinley’s size and weight. Basically what it does is slow down the heart rate and lowers the blood pressure.
At the ER, they gave us a cup full of liquid charcoal stuff to force down Brinley’s throat. It was an incredible mess and of course, Brinley fought us the whole way. I must say that the nurse(s) weren’t very helpful at this part, they just gave us a Dixie cup of the stuff, said “Here, give this to her!” and left the room to leave us to figure out how to get Brinley to drink it! Finally, after getting her covered in pitch black goo, and getting a liberal amount of it on ourselves as well, Michele asked the nurse for a syringe. That helped a lot and we finally got it all down Brinley’s throat. The charcoal apparently helps to “bind” the drug in the stomach so that it isn’t readily absorbed into the blood stream.
The ER doctor told us they were going to admit Brinley into the pediatric ICU for observation, perhaps overnight. That’s what ended up happening. Poor thing, she had diodes all over her and it wasn’t a very comfortable experience. However, I’m thankful to report that she was released yesterday with a clean bill of health. She is fine. It could have been so much worse. We are somewhat shaken by the whole experience but thankful for the Lord’s mercy in the whole situation. We made it back to Indiana around midnight last night.
