Texas Toddler To Undergo Multiple Surgeries After Swallowing Button Battery Of Remote

A toddler from Lubbock, Texas, is undergoing treatment after she accidentally swallowed a battery from a TV remote.

The child’s mother, Trista Hamsmith, quickly realized that her baby girl, Reese, had swallowed a button battery when she found her coughing and choking while sitting next to the TV remote with its back open.

The toddler was immediately rushed to the emergency room at the University Medical Center. An X-ray was taken which revealed the button battery was stuck in the girl’s throat. However, doctors couldn’t immediately identify the extent of the damage the cell had caused to Reese’s body, but suggested it was critical and needed to be removed.

"The battery needs to be taken out as soon as possible," Pediatric Surgeon and Texas Tech Physician Dr. Thomas McGill told NBC-affiliated television station KCBD news.

The doctors had to conduct an endoscopy to identify the damage caused.

"Often times, what you see is the mucosa is completely black as if were roasting a marshmallow," he added.

Dr. McGill said this wasn’t the first time he had to attend to such a case. There are at least two or three cases every year where kids swallow button batteries. He, however, said Reese’s situation was critical.

"It eroded through the esophagus and into the airway. Button batteries are flat and have a positive and negative side. So when they go into the esophagus, they start generating electricity and that causes an electrical burn. Within 15 minutes, you can have permanent damage to the esophagus," Dr. McGill told the outlet.

Reese has now been transferred to the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston where she will undergo multiple surgeries for the damaged esophagus. The family is separated for the weeks to come as Trista is staying with Reese at the hospital while her husband, Chris, is back home in Lubbock, taking care of their older daughter, Blake.

Trista told the outlet the family has a long road ahead of them, and they expect Reese to recover soon, adding that her baby girl is a fighter.

The family’s loved ones and friends have started a Facebook page called "Pray for Reese." A GoFundMe account has been linked to the page with the idea of accepting donations to help the Hamsmiths with the medical expenses for Reese.