Big Scare

A while back my sister Latisha (I think it was her, but I supposed I could be wrong...it's been a long time) shared a story with us about the dangers of button batteries.  I did a lot reading on the website and have tried to be vigilant in making sure that my kids don't swallow them, but today I learned the hard way how easy it still is.

Rylee and Corben were playing in the floor while I got our bag ready to go to my parent's house for the morning.  They were playing with these really cool light sticks that they got in their Easter baskets yesterday.  I knew the sticks had button batteries in them because they were clear, but since it was screwed together I didn't worry about it too much.  After a few minutes I glanced over at Corben and saw he was chewing on something in his mouth, so I went to dig out whatever it was.  We have a lot of 'helicopter' leaves outside that get tracked in the house.  I throw them away all the time, but Corben still gets them in his mouth sometimes and I assumed that's what it was.  I felt something, but he threw up before I could get it out (he has a fairly sensitive gag reflex and unfortunately throws up often enough that this wasn't too big of a shocker), so I assumed it was a helicopter, cleaned up the throw up and didn't think to much else about it until I saw the broken toys on the floor with batteries laying out (there were 3 in each one).  In the time that I was cleaning up the throw up he had put another battery in his mouth, but I got that one out.  Somewhat frantic at this point, I counted the batteries and realized there were only 5 instead of the 6 that there should have been.  By this time I was very frantic and hoping I had just missed the battery somewhere.  I ran down the hall where Jonathan was about to fall asleep and was crying and told him I thought Corben had swallowed a button battery.  I'm not sure I had ever even told him about Emmett's Fight, so I'm not sure he realized why I was so frantic.  I was going to call Doctor's Care to see if they could do x-rays because they are only 2 minutes away, but Jonathan said to call Poison Control first (I think he thought I was over reacting since Corben was acting okay and that the Poison Control people would tell me everything would be fine).  So I called Poison Control, told them what happened, and they told me to take him to the emergency room as soon as possible and they would call ahead and tell them I was coming.  So I rushed out the door, dropped Rylee off at my mom's and made it to the hospital in record time.  I went to sign in and told them my son had swallowed a button battery and needed an x-ray as soon as possible and that the Poison Control said they were going to call ahead.

The measly 5 minutes I waited in the ER waiting room felt like forever (and I'm sure the people who had been there for hours were ticked that me and my seemingly perfectly fine child were taken back so quickly).  They took us to a room where the nurse didn't seem too concerned and didn't even know what a button battery was or what the urgency was which was kind of annoying to me.  After about 15 minutes, I asked her when they were going to do the x-ray and she told me she had put in the request, but they never know how long they'll be.  Five minutes later I heard a doctor talking to her asking about the baby who had swallowed the button battery and if there had been x-rays done.  It gave me immense satisfaction to hear him tell her that those needed to be done ASAP and within 5 minutes we were taken back.  The ladies were super nice who did the x-rays and Corben did pretty good.  As we were walking back, I told her that I was 95% sure that he had swallowed the battery, but I would love to be wrong.  I wasn't wrong...three x-rays all showed that he had swallowed the battery.  The great news was that it had not become lodged in the esophagus and had passed on to the stomach.  We waited around a little bit while they decided if they should try and remove it or let it pass.  In the end the decided to let it pass on its own.  Less than 2 hours later we had paid the painful $200 co-pay and were on our way out (and passing someone who had gotten there before us and was just barely getting taken back).

And now I have the pleasure of digging through Corben's poop until I find that stupid battery.  We're supposed to follow up at the pediatrician on Wednesday which is unfortunate because he already has his well-child visit on Friday.  Anyway, I realize everything turned out fine, but it just really made me more aware of how quickly things can happen that could be devastating.

On the sheet they sent home with us about swallowing button batteries is said, "Keep all small batteries away from children.  When these are swallowed, it is a medical emergency.  When swallowed, batteries can rapidly cause death."  There are no words that express how grateful I am that Corben is fine and I hope we never have to have this kind of learning experience again.

Click here for more information the dangers of swallowing a button battery.  

*Update...So they told me it would probably pass within 2-3 hours, but definitely within 3 days.  He pooped twice more on Monday, but no battery.  And he didn't poop at all on Tuesday which is highly irregular and I was becoming slightly paranoid that the battery was burning a hole in his stomach.  Thankfully, it did pass Wednesday morning.  Ever wonder what a battery looks like after sitting in stomach acid for 48 hours?