Mum of baby who nearly died swallowing battery lobbies MPs

Hollie Phillips, 28, was told her son Ralphie was at death's door after a button battery got lodged in his oesophagus last August.

The charity worker said she went from "planning his first birthday to planning his funeral" as he was vomiting acid-smelling blood while drifting in and out of consciousness.

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Hollie rushed Ralphie, who was just under one at the time, to Watford General before he was transferred to another hospital.

She said: “Watford General saw something stuck in his oesophagus, but we still weren’t aware it was a battery and were transferred somewhere else.

“When they realised, they said if we don’t do surgery now he will die very, very shortly.

Image by Matthew Bridger

“He was fed through a tube for three weeks and I didn’t see my other son for that whole time.”

Thankfully the youngster pulled through but he still suffers from damage caused by the corrosive battery.

Hollie, from Abbots Langley, is now campaigning to spread awareness about the dangers, signs, and symptoms of button battery ingestion.

She said: “I have been struggling to get our local MPs to help with my mission to change the laws and awareness around button batteries.
(left to right) Stoke on Trent MP Jo Gideon, Stacey Marie Harper and Hollie Phillips in parliament - Image by Matthew Bridge

“Right now, one child dies every year from these batteries and that is one child too many.”

The drop-in event in the House of Commons on June 7 was organised as part of Child Safety Week.

The mum-of-two added: “We want people in power to listen to us as mothers who have been through this.

"We have seen what they can do and we need people to be aware of this.

The battery trapped in the oesophagus

“Children are naturally curious, and they put things in their mouths, so it could happen to anyone’s child.”

Button batteries are common in small electronics including some children’s toys, but when wet they break down and can burn through skin.

“It was a toy for Ralphie, and I thought I knew the dangers as I’m trained in childcare, but it only takes a second of turning your back.

“I went from planning his first birthday to planning his funeral.”