Tuesday 29 November 2022 06:48 PM Ten-month-old girl able to go home after five surgeries from swallowing ... trends now
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A 10-month-old girl can return home from the hospital following a near-death experience and five surgeries after she swallowed a children's water bead.
Kennedy Mitchell, from Maine, was hospitalized after accidentally ingesting a bead made by toy company Chuckles & Roar.
She was originally given a 50 per cent chance of survival by doctors after the bead blocked her bowel.
Her mother, Folichia Mitchell, bought the toy for her eight-year-old son Joshua, who is on the autism spectrum, from Target on October 24.
Days later, daughter Kennedy was throwing up and became very lethargic.
Thinking it could be a food allergy, Ms Mitchell took Kennedy to hospital on November 1, where tests revealed a water bead in her stomach.
Water beads, sometimes known as sensory beads, are water-absorbing beads made from super absorbent plastic, often marketed as toys or learning aids.
They can expand up to 200 times their original size when in water and only shrink back down to size when left to dry. They come in various colors and shapes like spheres, jewels and dinosaurs.
They can be used as educational tools and a form of entertainment for young children and children living with autism or increased anxiety
Kennedy Mitchell underwent five surgeries after accidentally swallowing a water bead. A Change.org petition to ban the children's toy has received over 40,650 signatures
Kennedy is now able to go home from hospital after spending the majority of the past month undergoing tests and surgeries following a blockage in her bowel which nearly killed her
