An 18-month-old toddler nearly died after doctors thought he had a ‘stomach bug’ – until his worried mum pushed for an x-ray revealing an alarming issue
A worried mum trusted her gut when pushing for answers for her poorly little boy – and the truth she discovered was shocking.
Madeline Dunn, 26, mum to 18-month-year-old twin boys Kai and Zayden Dunn, took her 18-month old tot Kai to hospital because he was screaming in pain – only to be told he had a stomach bug.
But the stay-at-home mum says her gut instinct told her it was something much more threatening to his health and after begging doctors for an x-ray – it came to light that Kai had swallowed a button battery.
And it was his mum’s persistence that saved the tot’s life – as an hour later Kai was rushed in for emergency surgery to remove the battery which could have been fatal.
“They [the doctors] had originally thought that it was just a stomach bug of some kind,” Madeline recalls. “I told the doctors I have a fear of them [the twins] swallowing something they’re not supposed to so I asked if there was any way we could do an x-ray. They said they could do one to make me feel better.”
The x-ray showed that the tot’s oesophagus was black as a result of being burned by the battery. Meanwhile, a CT scan revealed he had been left with a hole in his oesophagus and for a while it was touch and go as to whether he would survive.
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Madeline says she has ‘no idea’ where the button battery came from – but now wants to help raise awareness and warn other parents of the potential dangers.
The mum, who is from just outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas in the US, said: “They were saying he’d swallowed a button [battery] – it’s code red.
“They started shoving honey down his throat and getting him prepared to rush him into surgery.
“I didn’t know that he’d swallowed a button battery but something in my gut told me to have that x-ray done. The doctors told me when they were bringing him back from surgery that I saved my baby’s life by doing that.”
The mum is now encouraging other parents to check their children’s toys to ensure that these batteries are well secured.
Madeline said: “I have no idea where it [the battery] came from but when we checked his toys after he was hospitalised the majority of his toddler toys have button batteries in them.
“It’s just making sure that if toys do have button batteries in them that they’re secure and the back on them is tight.
“We were told [by doctors] that if we suspect they swallow a button battery in the future then we should give 10ml of honey every five minutes on the way to the hospital and to get to the hospital immediately because the faster it’s removed, the better.
“Unfortunately there have been a lot of deaths due to button batteries, especially in younger children.”
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