A father of two was driving his family home from an event in Chicago when his 8-year-old son made a shocking admission that sent them rushing to the nearest ER.
Greg, who is the proud father of twin sons Kennedy and Jonas, said they were stuck in traffic heading back from a literary festival in downtown Chicago when their journey took a dangerous turn. "Kennedy and Jonas were in the back seat going through their books and various freebies they got from the festival," Greg, who asked that his surname be omitted from the story, told Newsweek.
"They began horseplaying and messing around, as boys are wont to do. Then, from the back seat, I heard Kennedy yell, 'Oh no, I swallowed the badge," Greg said, adding that this wasn't exactly an isolated incident. "Kennedy is constantly being told, 'That's not good, get it out of your mouth.' Just kids being kids, but it drives his father crazy," he said.
This time was a little more serious. It turned out Kennedy had swallowed one of the free badges he had got at the festival. Panic spread throughout the car. Greg recalls shouting, regrettably: "If it's not food, why is it in your mouth?" Kennedy didn't have an answer. Instead, Greg said he began crying and yelling "about how sorry he is." Soon, his brother Jonas was crying too, screaming, "My brother is gonna die!"
Though Jonas’s reaction may have been dramatic, there was reason for the family to be concerned. “The badge was a metal back with an acrylic front,” Greg said. “We were absolutely petrified of the needle on the back of it."
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Swallowing Foreign Objects
Swallowing foreign objects is a surprisingly common reason why children end up in the emergency room. A 2019 study published in Pediatrics estimated that more than 759,000 U.S. children under 6 were treated in emergency departments for suspected foreign-body ingestion between 1995 and 2015, with cases nearly doubling over that period.
Dr. Maya Levy, a board-certified pediatrician, told Newsweek that swallowing objects is a "common occurrence," but the pin attached to the badge made the situation especially concerning.
"For clothing buttons without any sharp components, it is usually harmless and should pass through the digestive tract without a problem, especially if the size is small," she said. "But if there is a pin or any sharp metal point, [like with a badge] this can become dangerous."
Levy explained that sharp objects can injure or even puncture the esophagus, stomach, or intestines, potentially leading to bleeding, serious infections, or other emergencies requiring immediate medical intervention.
“It is important to note that the symptoms are not always present since children may initially appear well until the more serious complications develop,” she said. “So if a child swallows any object immediate evaluation by a healthcare provider is necessary.”
X-Rays Required
Greg understood the need to get his son looked at by a medical professional. The problem was that they were stuck in traffic when Kennedy swallowed the badge. In fact, they would remain bumper to bumper for another 45 minutes before they could do anything about the rogue badge. Thankfully, when they did reach the hospital, help was almost immediate.
"In the emergency room, we didn't have to wait long. As soon as we explained the situation, a doctor came out to talk to Kennedy, and we showed him another badge to illustrate its size," Greg said. "The doctor was relieved to see it wasn't a button-battery, told Kennedy he would be okay, and said they wanted to take X-rays to be sure."
Greg shared a picture of the resulting X-rays. The badge Kennedy swallowed can clearly be seen in the images. “The relief we felt when we saw the pin being closed on the X-ray was a huge weight off our shoulders,” Greg said.
Greg said the doctors later informed them they would have to wait for Kennedy to pass the badge. That day eventually came. "One day after school he came home and whispered to me 'I’m pretty sure it came out today, dad. I was in the bathroom for awhile,'" he said.
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Stress of Parenting
Though Greg reckons the entire ordeal ranks "pretty darn high" among his most stressful experiences as a parent, he's learned a valuable lesson.
"After you get through the panic, fear, and uncertainty, make sure you take the time to laugh and smile at the silliness of it all," he said. "There's no point in dwelling on the bad. Learn from it, yes. Use it as a teaching moment, yes. But, man, don't live in the negative. Laugh and smile about it. And then, when they bring home their first boyfriend or girlfriend, bust out that X-ray and embarrass the heck out of your kid."
Kennedy, meanwhile, told Newsweek he also learned something valuable that day: "I'm gonna listen to the doctor and keep anything that's not food away from any holes in my head."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang