A mum is warning parents about the dangers of small batteries after her toddler choked on one and suffered internal burns.
Nicole Wright, from Toronto, thought her 11-month old son Brenden was safe playing with a stereo remote control while she prepared a snack. But when she looked over at her son, she realised he had managed to open the back of the remote.
"When I saw that the battery had gone, I knew right away that he swallowed the battery," she said.
Brenden started to choke and Nicole rushed to call an ambulance.
She was aware that her son was in danger, but she didn't know that while the battery was stuck in Brenden's throat it was also burning him.
Human saliva interacts with lithium batteries to create an electrical current that can cause severe burns in just a couple of hours.
At the hospital, the battery had to be surgically removed from Brenden's throat. It left a 3.5cm burn on his esophagus which has impacted his voice. According to Nicole, even his cry is different.
"The surgeon said that his left vocal cord is immobile," she said. "It's too soon to tell whether that will repair."
Nicole hopes that what happened to Brenden will help raise awareness amongst parents about the dangers of batteries.
"I can honestly say I literally had no idea of the danger of it," she said. "I never, ever would have let him play with that if I knew what was inside it and the effects that [it] could potentially have on him."
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