Baby boy died after swallowing battery from cuddly toy: Parents’ agony after pill-sized power cell ‘burned hole in son’s heart’ after it fell out of £16 VTech Swing & Sing monkey
- Hughie McMahon, one, died after swallowing a button battery feared from toy
- Christine McDonald and Hugh McMahon found teddy compartment open
- The parents now want the button batteries to be banned over safety concerns
- VTech did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the tragedy
A baby boy has died after swallowing a button battery feared to be from his singing teddy.
Tragic Hughie McMahon, one, ate a button battery which turned his blood acidic and burned coin-sized hole in his heart.
His devastated parents Christine McDonald, 32, and Hugh McMahon, 29, say they later discovered a battery missing from his £16 VTech Swing & Sing monkey teddy.
VTech has not responded to a request for comment from MailOnline, but there is a screw on the battery compartment which is supposed to keep it closed and safe.
Hughie’s parents said he went floppy after eating the LR44 alkaline battery which got stuck in his throat.
He was rushed to hospital on December 24 from their home in Motherwell to University Hospital Wishaw.
Hughie was put on oxygen but then transported to a specialist unit at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where it was discovered his blood and gone ‘acidic’ and would not clot.
They then discovered there had been a hole burned in his heart by the battery and would never recover.
Ms McDonald and Mr McMahon then had to make the agonising decision to let him go after being told machines were the only things keeping him alive.
His mother said last night: ‘Nobody warned us about button batteries. I didn’t even know what they were but they’re in everything. I was more worried about bleach, falling down stairs and bumping heads.
Hughie McMahon, one, ate battery which turned his blood acidic and burned hole in his heart
Devastated parents Christine McDonald and Hugh McMahon want the batteries banned
The mother and father said it happened after he was playing with VTech Swing & Sing monkey
‘It’s a living hell. I felt my boy leaving. There’s no words on this planet to describe so much pain.
‘The doctor came in with two nurses. I could tell they had been crying. The surgeon told us Hughie had ingested a button battery. It had become lodged in his oesophagus and burned a hole right through his heart. They had only seen something like it once before.
‘I pulled the surgeon aside and told him I was Hughie’s mum and needed to be told the truth.
‘He told me if my boy made it through, he would be just existing. Nothing more,’ she told the Scottish Sun.
The VTech Swing & Sing monkey teddy is described as being ‘specifically designed to promote sensory awareness’.
Instructions for the plush animal toy available online say the battery compartment has a screw which is supposed to keep the top in place unless undone by a screwdriver.
After the tragedy the battery compartment on the toy showed one of the batteries was missing
Vtech’s instructions for the toy show the mechanism should have stopped it being opened
Hughie was laid to rest last month by his family at a ceremony featuring a guard of honour
They also feature the warning: ‘This product contains a button or coin cell battery. A swallowed button or coin cell battery can cause internal chemical burns in as little as two hours and lead to death.
‘Dispose of used batteries immediately. Keep new and used batteries away from children. If you think batteries might have been swallowed or placed inside any part of the body, seek immediate medical attention.’
Ms McDonald and Mr McMahon and their family laid Hughie to rest at Eastfield Cemetery in Cumbernauld in January.
The ceremony saw 300 bikers form a guard of honour for the tiny coffin.
Mr McMahon said: ‘My uncle is a biker. They’re amazing people and turned up in droves to support us.
‘It was incredible to see these big tough bearded guys on Harleys weeping as Hughie was carried out.
‘They made a hard day bearable and we’ll be forever thankful.’
Hughie’s parents now want the law to be changed to stop the tiny batteries from being sold.
Mr McMahon added: ‘They’ve ruined our life and we want to make sure nobody else goes through what we have.’
Local SNP MSP Clare Adam has supported the couple and say she will be raising the issue in Parliament.
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