During an interview, the young mom, Folicia, was reportedly left stunned when her 10-month-old daughter, Kennedy, became lethargic and started vomiting. Initially, the unfortunate mother thought her baby may have been having a bad reaction to some food she had eaten, but she would soon discover it was something so much worse as her daughter ended up fighting for her life. When her baby’s symptoms didn’t subside, the mother became increasingly concerned and decided to take her daughter to the hospital in hopes of figuring out what was wrong. Eventually, the child was transported to a larger children’s hospital by ambulance, where doctors ran tests on the 10-month-old baby and found a large mass in her stomach. It was then that the cause of Kennedy’s problems became more clear.
The mother also said that she had purchased the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Kit for her 8-year-old son several days before Kennedy fell ill. The news that one of these water beads could be the culprit stunned the mother, who admitted that the possibility of her baby swallowing water beads never crossed her mind. According to the mother, she made sure that when her son played with the water beads, they were out of the reach of his younger siblings. “We never saw her near them. Never saw her have one in her hand. Never saw her pick one up from the floor,” the mother said. “I was not worried about that at all. That never had crossed my mind the whole time that she was not feeling well and deteriorating.”
However, tests proved Kennedy had managed to find and swallow one of the water beads, which are made of superabsorbent polymers and expand in water. They can swell to the size of a tennis ball and cause intestinal blockage and damage, according to the health officials. The accidental ingestion of the water bead, which expanded once it was swallowed, resulted in Kennedy undergoing five surgeries. When Kennedy underwent the first surgery to remove the water bead, doctors found that her intestines were already damaged. Four more surgeries followed due to infections she picked up from the blockage, the NY Post reported. The mother also said that the battle for her daughter’s life had been incredibly difficult with doctors reportedly only giving Kennedy a 50-50 chance of surviving her third operation. Although she pulled through, over the course of a month, Mitchell said she was told three times that her baby may not survive. A month after swallowing the bead, Kennedy was reportedly still in the hospital recovering, and doctors were unsure of the long-term effects she may face. But, Mitchell said she’s beat “incredible odds” so far.
Facing such a horrific ordeal, the unfortunate mother wants other parents to beware and issued a warning after her child nearly died from accidentally swallowing a water bead. She has shared her terrifying experience on her social media account, making parents aware that the beads, intended for children 4 and older, can be potentially fatal. The store was made aware of the issue and told media outlets in a statement that it has removed the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Kit from its shelves and its website while it reviews the situation.
