Mother Warns Others After 18-Month-Old Dies From Swallowing Button Battery - Staff Picks

Is it croup or is it battery poisoning? One mother warns others after her 18-month-old dies from swallowing a button battery. Krista Hamsmith is turning her grief into a lifesaving mission to raise awareness of the dangers of ingesting batteries. In an interview with Inside Edition, Krista said, “It’s important for parents to educate themselves about button batteries because we are our children’s best advocates.” In the fall of 2020, Krista’s daughter, Reese, began running a fever and seemed to have developed a cold. Krista did what every good mother would have done. She promptly took Reese to the pediatrician where she was diagnosed with croup. Despite a doctor’s diagnosis, deep down Krista knew something wasn’t quite right. That’s when she noticed a button battery was missing from one of the remotes in her house. Krista looked up the symptoms of button battery poisoning and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her baby girl didn’t have croup. Reese was suffering from battery poisoning. Soon, her worst nightmares were realized when an x-ray revealed Reese had a battery lodged in her esophagus. This is an extremely dangerous situation because button batteries continue to burn tissue days after the battery has been removed. Medical professionals shared that the batteries generate hydroxide which causes tissue to burn. After Reese had surgery to remove the battery, she took a turn for the worse. Doctors ran more tests only to realize a fistula had developed. In Krista’s darkest hours, God reminded her that He was with Krista and her sick daughter. In the dark hours of the night, Krista looked up and noticed a a sign on the wall of her baby girl’s hospital room. It read, “He has a plan and I have a purpose.” Sadly, Reese passed away at just 18 months old. After Reese left this earth, Krista formed a nonprofit called “Reese’s Purpose” to raise awareness about button batteries. She is even working with Congress to help educate parents about button battery safety. Krista hopes to change how button batteries are protected in packaging and in the items that use these types of batteries. Despite suffering unimaginable grief, Krista knows God has a purpose and plan for Reese’s short little life on earth. She believes God is using Reese’s life and passing to help prevent the possible poisoning and deaths of other children. Everyone has battery operated items in their homes. In fact, everything from food scales to remote controls have button batteries. God can use anyone’s life to save the lives of others. Thanks to Krista’s mission and her compassion, more parents and grandparents can be educated about the dangers of button batteries. We praise God for comforting and walking with Krista in her grief and we praise Him even more as God uses this mission to save the lives of more children! “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11