Kernel Dallin

Lately, Benson, Talie, and Dallin have really been into reading Harry Potter. Well, Thursday, Benson had finished book number 4 and was getting excited to watch the movie. Since everyone was finished with homework and piano, we started the movie and let the kids watch the first little bit before bedtime. Fact: the Smiths can't watch a movie without popcorn, so we popped our usual bag of popcorn and were munching while enjoying the movie.

I was sitting next to Dallin (our straight A student) and I notice that he is pushing popcorn kernels up his nose and then plugging one nostril, while blowing the kernel back out. I tell him to stop and explain that it could get stuck and lead to an ER visit. Expecting Dallin to of course listen to his oh-so-wise mother, I focus my attention back on the movie until a few minutes later, I notice him at the kitchen sink, doing farmer blows out his nose over and over again. "Dallin!" I exclaim, "You don't have a popcorn kernel up your nose, do you!?" After a short pause, he admits he does. We get the flashlight out and look up his right nostril. Sure enough, there is a popcorn kernel, way up inside.
Benson and I look at each other. I go for the phone to call the after hours nurse (because of course it is late evening) and Benson googles, what to do when things get stuck up ones' nose. The after hours nurse assures us that it is a good sign that we can see the location of the kernel, and tells us that we should try to put saline solution up his nose and have him hold the left nostril shut while trying to blow the kernel out the right nostril. We do this over and over again until we admit it just isn't going to work. Now, it is time to move on to plan B: the nurse told us next to do Mouth to Mouth. Benson and I look at each other, again, and he says he just can't get that close to his son (I guess it falls under the nurturing role of a mother). So I get closer than I ever have to Dallin and perform mouth to mouth on the poor kid to try to pop the kernel out. Well, Plan B doesn't work, so Benson comes up with a plan C. He's the family champ at the game Operation, so I guess he thinks he can extract the kernel with a pair of tweezers. After a few unsuccessful attempts, we look back in the nostril, and the kernel has completely disappeared.
So, we call the after hours nurse again, who tells us that since we can't see it any more - we don't know where it went, so we better take him to the ER. It's 9:45 now and Dallin starts to cry as we drive to the ER. Reality has hit and he's starting to wonder how they're going to get this thing out of his nose and he's a little afraid that he might die.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrive at the ER and the nurse asks him how in the world a nine-year-old gets a popcorn kernel up his nose!?! Dallin starts this long ol' story about how his Dad likes Harry Potter . . . and they were watching the movie . . . and eating popcorn . . . and he was carrying the popcorn bowl to the sink . . . and then the popcorn kernel got up his nose. After his long story, the nurse said,"Ok., so how did the kernel get from the bowl to your nose? After retelling the story over and over again to each person he meets, the doctor fishes her way up his nose for awhile and can't locate it either, so she refers us to an Ear Nose Throat specialist to go to in the morning.

The next morning arrives and we drive down town Denver to the ENT where Dallin has to repeat the story to each nurse he talks to and to the doctor. They all laugh at him and he gets to the point that he can laugh and joke about them having to cut off his nose to get the kernel out.

We get into the ENT's office and Dallin lays back in a dental-like chair while the doctor puts on a full plastic face mask. There is a nurse at one side handing tools to the doctor, and another nurse on top of him to make sure he holds still while the doctor shoves different tools up his nose. Within minutes, the doctor slips a long, skinny looking tool, ending with a little bowl shape, up his nose and brings it right out with the kernel sitting on the end. Dallin didn't even know it was out until the one nurse climbed off of him and the other nurse shows him a soft, swollen popcorn kernel. The doctor finishes up by looking up the other nostril - just to make sure there's nothing else wasn't up there=).

A couple days later, Peyton sees a pair of tweezers on my bathroom counter, and says, "Mom, that's for getting popcorn out of your nose, huh." I guess it all makes sense to a 3 yr. old. Why wouldn't they make tools specifically for getting popcorn kernels out of one's nose?







Funny quote, Dallin says, "Mom come smell my armpits, they smell like tacos."