Boy swallows button battery at 16 months old, still recovering
In October 2023, the parents of 16-month-old Asa experienced a scare when their toddler accidentally swallowed a button battery from a remote control.
He was rushed to the hospital, where the battery was successfully removed, but his road to recovery has been long.
Over the past a year and a half, he has undergone 29 surgeries and had to relearn how to eat.
In early May, 32-year-old Kasey Allen, the mother of the child, uploaded a video of Asa in the hospital on a ventilator, hoping to spread awareness.
Source: @kaseyall on TikTok
She said in the footage that right after the incident, Asa suffered extreme burns, damage, and narrowing in his oesophagus, which put him in a state of delirium where he did not move, blink, or even sleep, for three days.
Black fluid seeps from child’s mouth following accident
In an interview with Newsweek, an American news magazine, Ms Kasey recalled the incident that happened on 13 October 2023.
She was in a camper van with her three children, aged five, two, and 16 months. While she was doing chores inside, the kids played nearby.
At one point, she noticed a broken remote control on the floor but thought nothing of it.
About 20 to 30 minutes later, Asa, her youngest, started showing signs of fatigue, a flushed face, irritability, excessive drooling, and coughing.
Thinking he was just tired, Ms Kasey let him nap.
However, 20 minutes later, black fluid started seeping from his mouth.
In a panic, she called a nurse friend, who immediately suspected button battery ingestion.
He spent 6 days on ventilator before showing improvement
An X-ray confirmed the battery was lodged between Asa’s collarbones, but the first hospital lacked the equipment to operate.
He was transferred to another, better-equipped hospital, where three surgeons worked for nine hours to remove the battery.
Source: @kaseyall on TikTok
Ms Kasey said the family had prepared for the worst — at one point, they thought Asa might die.
He was later transferred again, where his condition worsened to the point that about 20 medical staff rushed into the room to save his life.
Asa reportedly spent six days on a ventilator before showing signs of improvement.
Strong recovery after 29 procedures
For the next three weeks, the toddler went through up to three physical therapy sessions a day in hospital, and had to relearn how to eat.
To date, Asa has undergone 29 surgeries, including repeated oesophageal dilations to help him swallow and one procedure to remove scar tissue.
Source: @kaseyall on TikTok
Despite the painful and frightening journey, Asa is now recovering well and gradually meeting developmental milestones. Ms Kasey said:
We are finally on the better side of things. We’ve learned a lot and become a stronger family.
Doctor highlights dangers of ingesting batteries
Dr Nicole Aaronson, a pediatric ENT specialist at the Nemours Foundation in Florida, explained that when a button battery gets stuck in the oesophagus, it generates an electrical current that produces hydroxide ions.
The chemical reaction can cause severe tissue damage and burns.
If the battery remains lodged for too long, the damage can extend to nearby organs like the trachea or major blood vessels.
In the case where a child is suspected to have swallowed a battery, experts recommend acting fast and getting them to the nearest hospital.
Also read: 11-year-old boy in China swallows 100g gold bar, it gets stuck in his digestive tract for 2 days
11-year-old boy in China swallows 100g gold bar, it gets stuck in his digestive tract for 2 days
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Featured image adapted from @kaseyall on TikTok.
