When one of Madeline Dunn’s 18-month-old twins woke up screaming in agony, she rushed him to the emergency room and demanded an X-ray
When Madeline Dunn’s 18-month-old son Kai woke up screaming in pain late one night, she had no idea he was moments away from a life-threatening emergency. Though doctors initially dismissed his symptoms as a stomach virus, Dunn insisted on an X-ray—a decision that ultimately saved her son’s life.
The incident began around 11 p.m. when Kai suddenly began crying inconsolably. “He was screaming in pain and drooling a lot,” said Dunn, 26. Alarmed, she and Kai’s father rushed him to the hospital. But once there, doctors diagnosed him with a stomach virus. Dunn, however, wasn’t convinced.
“I’ve always had a fear of my twins swallowing something they shouldn’t,” she told Daily Mail. Trusting her instincts, she pushed for an X-ray—despite the doctors’ reassurances. “They said they could do one just to make me feel better.”
That scan revealed the terrifying truth: Kai had swallowed a button battery, which was lodged in his throat and rapidly burning through his esophagus.
“As we were walking back to the room, a whole team of doctors was already there,” Dunn recalled. “They had the X-ray up and told me it was a code red. They started giving him honey and rushed him into surgery.”
Button batteries — those coin-sized power cells found in toys, remotes, and household gadgets — can be deadly when swallowed. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, saliva triggers a current that causes a chemical burn, and serious internal damage can occur within just two hours.
Kai’s case was urgent. Surgeons removed the battery, but not before it burned a hole in his esophagus. Doctors inserted a feeding tube as he healed, warning that if the injury became infected, the outcome could be fatal.
“They told me I saved his life by pushing for that X-ray,” Dunn said.
Though the hole eventually closed and Kai returned home, his recovery has been long and difficult. Scar tissue has caused his esophagus to narrow, and he still undergoes weekly procedures where doctors stretch it using a balloon under anesthesia. He’s expected to need up to 10 more.
“I checked all of his toys after that,” Dunn said. “And most of them had button batteries. I had no idea.”
Now, she’s urging parents everywhere to be vigilant.
“Make sure if a toy has a button battery, the compartment is secure and tightly screwed shut,” she warned. “Every day, I think about how lucky we are. I almost lost my baby over something so small.”
