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A five-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after swallowing 52 magnets, and his mother is warning other parents after her son nearly died after swallowing the toy.
Five-year-old Jude Foley, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had the magnetic beads removed by emergency surgery after putting the toy in her mouth.
He underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix and had his intestine cut in five places where the magnets got caught.
His mother, Lyndsey Foley, 34, became concerned when Jude began to get sick over an eight-week period in the summer, but otherwise he seemed fine.
Five-year-old Jude Foley, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had the magnetic beads removed by emergency surgery after putting the toy in her mouth.
Jude’s mother, Lyndsey Foley, had bought the magnetic beads as a gift for her oldest daughter, eight-year-old Poppy, and had no idea if Jude swallowed several at once or over a period of weeks.
He was taken to the hospital in severe pain in August, but blood tests and an examination revealed nothing wrong.
However, an X-ray on Jude’s stomach was able to detect the bead magnets.
Ms Foley said: “The doctor thought it was lying on a necklace at first, but looking at it I knew straight away it was these beads.”
‘Then, within five minutes, the doctors were arranging for an ambulance to take us to Children’s Hospital in Cardiff.
We have the blue light on. I started to panic. It was then that I realized how serious it was.
An X-ray on Jude’s stomach was able to detect the bead magnets.
Ms. Foley had bought the magnetic beads as a gift for her eldest daughter, eight-year-old Poppy, and had no idea if Jude swallowed several at once or over a period of weeks.
She said: ‘The surgeon said if I hadn’t brought it in when I did, it could have been fatal.
“Due to the nature of the intestine and the strength of the beads, it was opening holes in his intestine, which was causing his intestine to leak, so an infection was spreading through his body.” She was poisoning herself.
Jude was in the operating room for seven hours and couldn’t eat anything for a week after surgery and doctors kept him in the hospital for 14 days.
Mrs Foley said: ‘He was suffering. It was traumatic for him. He was horrible to me because he couldn’t cwtch him because he was connected to so many pipes.
“I’m very lucky that Jude doesn’t have any long-term health issues, but the surgeon warned us that he may have had a lifelong colostomy bag or may have had monthly vitamin injections due to the shortness of the bowel.” .
Ms. Foley now wants to warn other parents about the dangers posed by toys after Jude was left with a five-inch scar.
She said: ‘If you have these beads at home, remove them. They are so dangerous.
‘I still have that guilt, thinking about what I put my son through or what could have been, how his life could have been changed through the purchase of a toy that you think is safe. I never would have thought the damage it would have caused.
‘Jude has learned his lesson now: don’t put anything in your mouth. And I, as a parent, am more aware of what I buy.’
Jude was in the operating room for seven hours and couldn’t eat anything for a week after surgery and doctors kept him in the hospital for 14 days.
He underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix and cut his intestine in five places where the magnets got caught.
Ms. Foley now wants to warn other parents about the dangers posed by toys after Jude was left with a five-inch scar. She said: ‘If you have these beads at home, remove them. They are so dangerous’
Health chiefs also want parents to be aware of potentially dangerous toys.
Sarah Jones, environmental public health consultant at Public Health Wales, said: “We are asking parents to think carefully before buying products containing magnets and button batteries for children.”
Magnetic mini toys are not good stocking stuffers. They should always be stored out of the reach of small children.
‘Similar dangers come from children who also swallow button batteries.
‘Parents should ensure that the button cell battery compartment is closed and secure on all toys before giving them to children.’
In October, a mother joined the NHS in calling for a ban on small magnets after her 14-year-old daughter accidentally swallowed them while trending on TikTok and risked damaging internal organs.
In February last year, a 12-year-old schoolboy had to undergo life-saving surgery after swallowing 54 magnets.