CPR classes anyone?

  I got the scare of my life this week.  Probably THE scariest day of my life.  Little Ellie Mae turned blue.
  Wednesday was our last day of swim lessons. Ellie usually has somewhat of a rough time at swim lessons. They start at 10:15 and go till 11:40 so we're there from about 10-12. Ellie's nap time is usually at 11 so she's tired right when we get there. Once we get home it's a little after 12 so into bed goes Ellie.
  She got a good nap in on Wednesday. Once she woke up, I put her in her highchair for an afternoon snack and then down onto the floor to wander about once she was done.
  I started to cut up the watermelon that had been sitting in our fridge for a few days when Ellie crawled over to me. She loves watermelon so I gave her a piece. And another. And another. She was standing up next to me, clinging to my legs and wanting me to hold her so I yelled for Kate to come get her sister. She did and took Ellie into the toy room. 5 minutes later Ellie was back.
  I popped another piece of watermelon into Ellie's mouth to pacify her for the moment. It didn't work. I yelled for Kate again. She started coming but Ellie was choking on the watermelon in her mouth so I rinsed my hands, shook them off and picked up Ellie. By now I can tell she's choking on the watermelon pretty good. I lean her over the sink and wack her back a few times. She's turning purple and still hasn't taken a breath yet so I wack her back harder. Still nothing. All of a sudden she is as stiff as a board and blue. I put her right side up and I scream twice, really loud. I'm hysterical but trying to not totally loose my mind so I can help my baby.
  In my head I'm trying to remember how to do the heimlich and remembering if you don't do it right you can break ribs. It all happened in just a few seconds, from me turning Ellie right side up, the screaming, and all those thoughts running through my head. As this was going on, I hear the door to our garage open.  It's gotta be Andrew. I yell his name and he runs to me, takes blue Ellie, holds her so that her head is down at a 45 degree angle and wacks her back hard, about 7 times.
  Ellie coughs and then starts crying. Oh, thank you God!! Andrew tries to comfort Ellie and I cry. I cannot believe what just happened. All I want to do is hold my baby, so I take my Ellie Mae from Andrew and calm her down.
  The world is okay again.
  Talking about what happened with Andrew that night, I realized I need to be better prepared for emergencies, especially when it has to do with my kids' well being. My world would shatter if something happened to one of them.
  So onto CPR classes I go. And forever will I praise God for all the miracles, big and small, he has seen fit to bless me and my family with. With God and some extra learning on my side, I hope to be better prepared for the future.