An 18-month-old baby survived with a lithium button battery lodged in his esophagus for five to six weeks. The boy underwent surgery at a hospital in Utah after doctors made the discovery.

The child's mother, Erica McMillan from Arizona, said her son Luke liked to explore his environment just like any other toddler, according to WSYX ABC 6.

"He was only 15 months old, so he wasn't walking yet. Being a baby, he was just eating stuff," Erica told KUTV.

The mother felt something was wrong when Luke started struggling to swallow and sometimes puked solid foods.

When she took him to the hospital, doctors treated him for an ear infection. However, Erica and the boy's father, KC McMillan, noticed that Luke's condition was not improving despite several visits to the doctor.

"Has he been around any coins?" doctors asked the parents when they finally took an x-ray, KC told the outlet. "No," the parents replied.

The parents were told that a battery was lodged in their son's esophagus and believe it had been stuck there for five to six weeks.

"If you ever told a doctor he had a battery in for that long, they would not believe you," Erica added.

Batteries, when swallowed, can burn through a child's esophagus in just 2 hours, according to the National Capital Poison Center. It could lead to "surgery, months with feeding and breathing tubes, and even death," the website states.

Doctors found that Luke's esophagus had sustained burns and scars. However, he survived because a little piece of electrical tape was wrapped around the battery.

"It was next to the Aorta; it could have gotten burned into his heart," Erica added. "It was a super emotional day. They rushed him to surgery and said there was a possibility he might not make it because of where it was lodged."

"Lukey survived, but his esophagus was severely damaged, making it nearly impossible for him to eat. He's had to go through 6 esophageal surgeries the past 6 months to try and fix it," read a GoFundMe page that the family set up to offset medical expenses.

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Due to the limited options for treatment in Arizona, Luke underwent surgery at a hospital in Salt Lake City and is expected to undergo another one.

"The surgeons scope down his throat and cut away the scar tissue, so now the esophagus is closer to where it should be at full size," KC added.

Erica gave a message to parents and said: "I honestly believe in a mom gut, and if you don't feel like something is right, then it's okay to pursue and ask questions. If we didn't do the x-ray and hadn't found the battery when we did, then it could have ended worse."

Representational image (toddler)
Representational image (Source: Pixabay / emrahozaras) Source: Pixabay / emrahozaras