Chip Chick
Lubbock, Texas. Button batteries are found in just about every house across America. These tiny, shiny batteries power toys for children, TV remotes, car keys, and watches; just to name a few things.
Reese Hamsmith was 18-months-old when she swallowed a button battery in October of 2020, and her mom Trista had no idea that she had gotten her hands on one.
At first, Trista noticed that Reese didn’t seem right. It looked like Reese was getting sick and she had a runny nose, so Trista brought her to the pediatrician.
The pediatrician thought that Reese had croup, and Reese was given a steroid shot. After returning home, Reese’s family realized there was a button battery that was unaccounted for.
An internet search into the symptoms of swallowing a button battery left Reese’s family rushing her to the nearest hospital.
Facebook; pictured above is Reese
Unfortunately, the symptoms of croup and the symptoms of swallowing a button battery and pretty much identical and include wheezing, coughing, a runny nose, and gagging.
Reese got an x-ray in the hospital that confirmed the worst; she had swallowed that missing button battery.
Reese underwent emergency surgery to get the button battery out of her, and although she was released, she ended up returning after a CT scan showed that she now had a hole in her trachea and in her esophagus.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
