Perilous Pill-Popping

 Authored by Kristi

    My older sister, Tina, was fairly often left in charge of my little sister, Janna, and me. At the time of this story, Janna was approximately 3 years old. Tina and I were in another room, probably cleaning. Right then, Janna screamed bloody murder. Bloody friggin murder.

    There had been some wasps in the house. After she was screaming, we saw one above the table. For half a minute we thought that she’d been stung and were looking for the injury.

    In fact, she had opened a first aid kit and found a red capsule of ammonia that was used to rouse unconscious “patients.” The little red capsule looked like candy to 3-year-old Janna. She popped it in her mouth--thank God she first chewed it instead of swallowing it. The contents burnt the hide off of her tongue. Like... she was missing a few layers of skin on her tongue. When our mom came home, she took care of Janna's tongue.

    Tina was so afraid that she would get into trouble for not watching Janna closely enough. After Mama took care of Janna's mouth with water and milk to coat her tongue, she laid down with Janna for a nap. 

    It was a huge relief for everyone that Janna was not more injured and that Tina was not excessively punished for allowing the incident to occur on her watch. Although, it probably didn't make Tina any better.