WARNING: It could happen to you. Would you know what to do?

Everything was fine.  We were almost through dinner when my cell phone rang.  The display said it was my oldest granddaughter calling.  I answered.

I couldn't really understand what she was saying... something about kitchen stool and choking.  She was crying so hard.  Dani asked for my prayers for Melody.  I heard that part.  Melody Lillian is my namesake... my fourth granddaughter; Dani's baby sister.  She will be three this December.

Melody had been running a slight fever.  The flu had been passing through the family.  A couple of weeks ago, the family doctor had told Dani that he thought her symptoms were probably from the H1N1 virus.  Now it was Melody's turn.  Daddy stayed home from work to be with her.

Mommy had just walked through the door from work.  Melody was sitting on the kitchen stool having her temperature checked.  What happened next is a blur...  They had been eating candy and Melody had a sucker in her hand when Mommy came in the room.  Melody started to get up from the stool, but suddenly collapsed into a seizure on the floor.  She stopped breathing and began turning blue!

The immediate thought was that she had choked on some candy.  Mommy had taken a first aid course years ago, but didn't remember much of it.  Dani, however, had recently completed a first aid/CPR course.  It was required for her nursery job at their church.  She performed the Heimlich on Melody.  No candy popped out, but Melody did start breathing again.

Meanwhile, Daddy had been on the phone summoning the paramedics.  As soon as the ambulance arrived, Dani called me to have me pray for her sister.

Hubby and I jumped in the car and headed for Middletown.  We went to the hospital first.  Melody was running a very high fever.  She didn't want to take her medicine for the nurse.  I said, "I bet she'll take it for Papaw."  The nurse handed him the medicine cup.  Papaw gave it to Melody and she drank it down.  Our job there was done.

Dani told me that she had been unhappy about the first aid course.  It fell on her birthday and lasted for hours.  She never thought about needing it for her own sister.  Now she is so glad she took it!  Who knows how this might have ended otherwise.

It turns out that Melody has the flu.  A fever of over 104* was probably the cause of the seizure.  She was released from the hospital tonight and is resting well at home.

We hear so much about flu prevention.  Everybody's running to the store for hand sanitizers and other items to help combat the virus.  But what about training?  All the hand sanitizer in the world wasn't going to make Melody breath!

I hope that everyone that reads this story will think about signing up for a First Aid/CPR course.  Most people live far enough from a firehouse or emergency center that, before help would arrive, permanent brain damage could occur in someone that had stopped breathing.  Sure, the 911 operators are trained to talk you through life-saving procedures; but wouldn't it make you feel more confident knowing you had been trained to perform them.  Your child's life could depend on it.  Please, think about it...