Twelve-year-old Freddie Webster nearly died after swallowing ball bearings in a new playground craze
Twelve-year-old Freddie Webster nearly died after a new playground craze saw him swallow ball bearings.
The two pairs of tiny super-strong magnetic balls slowly pulled towards each other inside him over five days, gradually ripping a hole in the wall of his stomach.
Surgeons had to remove 10cm of his small bowel in a four-and-a-half-hour lifesaving operation on February 3.
Freddie then spent eight days recovering at Hull Royal Infirmary.
His mother Sarah Webster is now warning parents of the dangers and Freddie’s school has banned them.
The magnets have become a craze among kids who use them as pretend piercings, but don’t think of the dangers.
They put them in their noses, and even in their eyelids.
Some, like Freddie, put one of the 3mm-diameter balls inside their mouth and put the corresponding magnet outside it.
Freddie managed to swallow one pair of magnets playing this game, which are marketed as whiteboard and fridge magnets, and then did the same thing five hours later.
This left him fighting for his life – the powerful attraction between the magnets was ripping through his stomach. He suffered extensive damage to his small bowel, which meant he had to have 10cm removed.
He told me on the Wednesday that he had swallowed two magnets
Freddie had been playing with the magnets with friends at Driffield School & Sixth Form, east Yorkshire.
His mum Sarah, from Driffield, said: ‘Freddie had swallowed the first two magnets at school on the Tuesday, and although I didn’t know at the time, he then swallowed two more later that day.
‘He told me on the Wednesday that he had swallowed two magnets and at that time I thought they would just pass.
‘On the Wednesday night he started with stomach ache, but by the Friday morning he told me that the stomach ache wouldn’t go away and he said it had kept him awake the night before.
‘I rang the doctors on the Friday morning and I told them about swallowing the magnets. They asked how many he had swallowed, which is when Freddie told me it was four.’
The doctor told Sarah that, as a medical professional, he could not believe that Freddie had not been in more pain
Mother Sarah said: ‘He told me on the Wednesday that he had swallowed two magnets and at that time I thought they would just pass’
‘The doctor told us that the next 24 hours would be critical’
On the doctor’s advice Sarah took Freddie straight to A&E at Hull Royal Infirmary, where he had an x-ray which revealed the four magnets.
The paediatric consultant Marcin Kazmierski told Sarah that Freddie’s was the fourth case the hospital had seen since November all involving boys of a similar age to Freddie and that swallowing the magnets could be ‘potentially fatal’.
By the Saturday morning the magnets still had not passed and Freddie was prepared for theatre. At that time the consultant said Freddie was very well and that he did not appear in too much pain, and Freddie even walked over to theatre from his ward.
However, after three-and-a-half hours in theatre, Sarah said she was becoming increasingly concerned.
She said: ‘After four-and-a-half hours Mr Kazmierski came out and said that Freddie was stable but very poorly and told us that the next 24 hours would be critical.
‘He said as a medical professional he could not believe that he had not been in more pain.
‘When I saw him in recovery he was wired up to drips and Freddie moved his oxygen mask and the first thing he said was ‘What about skiing’, because he was due to go on a skiing trip with school in March!’
‘I believe they should definitely be banned as they had been in America,’ says Sarah
Sarah added that she could not thank all the staff at Hull Royal Infirmary enough for their care.
‘The staff were amazing and the care Freddie received was outstanding,’ she said.
Now Sarah wants to get the message out to parents about the dangers of these magnets.
She said: ‘I rang the school after Freddie’s operation to let them know and they were amazing and very quick to get an email out to all parents and also to contact the parents of the boys that Freddie knew had some of the magnets. They have also banned the magnets from school.
‘I had no idea what damage these magnets could do’
‘I feel I am a fairly astute mum but I had no idea what damage these magnets could do. I thought they would just pass if you swallowed them. I want to warn other parents who don’t know about them and make people aware of the dangers they can cause.
‘I believe they should definitely be banned as they had been in America. These magnets are extra powerful and come in different colours and clearly kids are going to be attracted to them.’
Freddie, who is now out of hospital and back at school just in the mornings, is making a good recovery however he is on a special light diet, which is low in fibre and fat and will have to closely monitor any problems or changes with his bowels now for the rest of his life.
He said he is worried that this could happen to other children.
He said: ‘I feel fine now I am not in pain but I feel cautious about what I can do after the operation.
‘I think these magnets should be banned in every country. I know a lot of people who have them and they put them in their mouths, noses and even in their eyelids. I was really worried about the other children in school and if any of them may have swallowed any.’