Bringing Up Bobbin

Botany 101

This

Is Common Yew. Or English Yew. Image courtesy of wikipedia.org. Its latin name is Taxus Baccata. And it is toxic. As in poisonous. As in can be fatal:

"parts of the tree are highly toxic—except the bright red aril surrounding the seed, enabling ingestion and dispersal by birds—due to cyanide and the toxic alkaloid taxine. The plant remains toxic, even when wilted or dried. Symptoms include staggering gait, muscle tremors, convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, and eventually heart failure. However, death occurs so rapidly that many times the symptoms are missed. Horses may die from a mouthful of yew, and a 1/4 lb of the plant will kill an adult horse in 15 minutes. The tree should be fenced off or removed from pasture land to prevent grazing animals from consuming it."

Remember the part that says "except the bright red aril surrounding the seed". That's important later on.

This is the number for Washington State Poison Center:

1-800-222-1222

A very handy number to have on your cell phone speed dial in case you or a loved one accidentally or intentionally ingests a substance that is either unknown in its toxicity or known to be poisonous. Dial this number, and you are connected directly to a human who is knowledgeable in such matters as whether or not a Common Yew or English Yew berry will have any kind of effect on a two-year-old when ingested.

Thankfully, the answer to that question is "little to no effect", which is what I was told when I dialed the Washington State Poison Control center after receiving the number from the nursery who identified the clipping I had taken from the bush from which Bobbin had snatched and swallowed a berry before I was able to fish it out of her mouth. The nursery also gave me a handy fridge magnet with the Poison Control number printed on it, should the need arise in the future again.

I hope it does not.

I actually don't know for sure if Bobbin swallowed the berry or not. I was almost certain she had not; I was watching her like a hawk while she was picking the damn berries.

We were walking around the block next to her school (we do this frequently when the weather is nice, before getting in the car to head home for the day). Bobbin stopped at a bush in front of the apartment complex next to her school when she saw the red berries that were peeping out from the foliage. "Bobbin pick bey-yees?" she asked me. Points for asking. I always tell her she needs to ask before she picks berries of any kind. "Yes, you can pick them. But no eating them. We can't eat these. These are for birds. They will make our tummies sick if we eat them, ok?" She nodded. "Bobbin feed birdies bey-yees" she replied, and started plucking away. After she had a couple in her hands I said "Ok, now we need to throw them on the ground so the birdies can eat them". "Bobbin eat them?" she asked. "No, no eat them. Bobbin can't eat them. They'll make your tummy sick. Make Bobbin's tummy sick. And you will have to go to the hospital. We can't eat these kinds of berries" was my firm reply, as I crouched down and looked her straight in the eye. "Throw them on the ground and let the birdies eat them".

In the past, Bobbin has always complied. I know she understands. She knows what "tummy sick" is. She knows certain things will make her very sick if she eats them. And she knows she's supposed to ask before eating berries. We've been through this routine several times and she always tosses the berries to the birdies and acknowledges that the berries are not for people and that they'll make people sick.

But this time was different. This time, quick as lightening, she grinned and popped one in her mouth as I crouched looking into her eyes. I'm pretty sure it was just one. And with my mommy-reflexes kicked into high gear, I reached into her mouth and swept the berry out with my index finger, tossed it on the ground, and then wiped my hands on my pants. "No no no! That's not ok. I said no eating the berries. these berries will make you sick. These berries will give you a big owie in your tummy! No more berries, no more picking, and no more feeding the birds" and I picked her up and carried her swiftly back towards our car.

On the way back she apologized. "Soh-wee mommy", she said earnestly. "Thank you Bobbin" I replied. "I accept your apology". "Bobbin eat beh-yee" she said. "Yes, you almost did, but mommy got it out" I recapped. "No, Bobbin eat beh-yee". I looked at her. "Did you eat one?" I asked. "Yes" she answered. "Did you swallow it?" I asked. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "Where is it now?" I asked. "In Bobbin's tummy" she responded, patting her little tummy.

Oh crap. Did she have two in her hand? I only saw one in her mouth. Dammit.

"Ok," I said, "well if you swallowed it and it is in your tummy, then you might start feeling sick. If your tummy starts to hurt or your head or body starts to hurt or if you feel tummy-sick you need to tell mommy right away. Do you understand?" she nodded. "Bobbin eat beh-yee. Not ok. No more beh-yees. Make Bobbin's tummy sick". I looped back to the bush and broke off a branch with a berry dangling on the end and put it in my pocket. Then I took her back inside the school to wash her hands and get her a big cup of water. She drank several sips before pouring it out. Then I strapped her in the car, and called her doctor's office which, not coincidentally, is just down the street from her school, not a block away.

"Mommy? Bobbin need go hopital?" she asked from the back seat out of the blue just as I was about to dial. I turned around. "Well, Bobbin, I don't know. Maybe. Let me ask the doctor". Bobbin started to cry. "Bobbin no WANT go hopital. Bobbin no WANT go. Bobbin no WANT tummy sick!" Reality had started to sink in. In a way, I was glad to see her concern. "Let mommy ask the doctor. We'll do what the doctor says, ok?". I held her hand and finished dialing.

After explaining what happened, the nurse got on the line and said that if she seems fine now, there's really no point in bringing her in; they can't check for anything, but I should watch for allergic reactions (hives, rash, trouble breathing) and also gave me the number of the Washington Poison Center. That's when I made the first call.

I explained to the helpful gentleman that answered the Poison Center hotline what had happened and he assured me that even though he couldn't positively ID the type of berry over the phone (he was very polite; there was no "duh" tone in his voice :-)) that the fact that it was just one berry meant that it wouldn't cause any severe problems. He said I could always take a clipping to a nursery to get it positively identified, but that a single berry from anything wasn't going to be serious.

Well, I had a clipping, and there's a nursery on the way home so I stopped on the way. Bobbin was happily singing to herself throughout these conversations, in the back seat, occasionally demanding that we cook hot dogs when we got home and reminding me that she ate a "beh-yee" and that it might make her tummy sick.

The nursery was officially closed, but the man who came out to greet me and inform me of this, didn't hesitate to help me when I explained the situation. He looked at the clipping; identified it as a Yew; went inside and looked it up on the internet to confirm, and then informed me of his findings. And then handed me the magnet. I called Poison Control back and the guy on the other end confirmed - it'd take a whole bowl full of berries to have a significant effect. One berry wasn't going to be a problem.

And so went my first experience dealing with a toddler-ingested toxic substance.

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