After a weekend at her stepfather’s, a young girl complains of stomach ache. The doctor looks at the ultrasound and promptly calls for emergency help… 
It should have begun like any other Monday morning. Anna’s mother, Clara, was making breakfast for her eight-year-old daughter before school. However, there was a problem.
Anna sat at the table, gripping her tummy, looking pale.
“It still hurts, Mom,” she muttered feebly.
Clara’s heart constricted. “Did you mention that it hurt yesterday as well?”
Anna nodded, worry shining in her eyes. “It began on Saturday evening. incredibly powerful. My stepfather replied it was probably just the pizza when I informed him.
Anna’s stepfather and Clara’s spouse is Lucas. Clara had to leave her daughter in his care that weekend since she had to go to work. She had always downplayed her daughter’s worries up until this point, believing them to be transient suffering. This time, though, she felt uneasy and shivered.
Anna had been seeing the same pediatrician since birth, so Clara wasted no time in taking her to see him.
Following a comprehensive checkup, the physician asked for an ultrasound “just to be sure.” But his peace was broken when the pictures came on the screen. He and the helper looked at one other anxiously.
“What is it, Doctor?” With a quivering voice, Clara inquired.
The doctor picked up the phone right away and said, “I need an ambulance for an eight-year-old girl,” in an urgent manner.
On the examining table, she turned to face her frightened daughter. One terrifying thought now occurred to her: What had actually transpired during the weekend at her stepfather’s house?
The emergency services showed up quickly, giving this frightening and unanticipated scenario a glimpse of optimism.
They took Anna under their care right once and rushed her to the ambulance while they performed additional tests to find out what she had swallowed.
After going over the preliminary findings, the doctor informed Clara in a strong but comforting tone that her daughter had eaten a little object, most likely a piece of a toy she had discovered unnoticed.
Thankfully, the doctors’ quick thinking and skill allowed them to take the appropriate action before things got worse.
Anna received treatment right away, and her condition stabilized after several hours of observation. The little girl’s parents were finally able to exhale in relief, even though they were still in shock, knowing that she would get better.
With her heart still pounding, Clara expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the paramedics and medical personnel for their professionalism and quick reaction.
