Dangers of magnets

tegan L.

12 Years ago when I was 3 I did something that not everyone would expect. I had toy magnets called Magnetics. I was playing with the magnets on the end of the sticks that connect all the parts. I was popping them in and out of my mouth. My mom never knew about this. They just went in my throat. I have no clue how but they did. They felt cold and did not hurt when I swallowed them. After one went down I put another one in because it was fun popping them in and out of my mouth. Soon enough another one went down then 1 more. I swallowed 5 magnets.

A day later, I was telling my mom that I poked my belly with scissors. All the magnets contracted in my intestines. It hurt really bad and it felt like I was getting stabbed in the stomach over and over. The magnets created 11 holes in my intestines. I went upstairs because I felt horrible. I started projectile vomiting all over the house. My mom asked “What's wrong!!”. I didn’t know what was wrong. She took my to the ER. They did an xray on my stomach and saw them. They said “It looks like a bolt”. They sent me back home. I still felt really sick and i couldn't eat. We went back the next day.

When we got there, The doctors said that it looked different. I don't really remember much but I went into surgery. The surgical technician came to talk to my mom while I was in surgery to let her know how things were going, and he said that the magnets were jumping to the scalpel that the surgeon was using. It took a few days before I could eat real food.  The IV bag that contained fluids and medications was a white color and my parents convinced me it was spaghetti with Alfredo sauce. My family came and visited once in a while but my mom could visit me but she had a all day job at home. My Dad was with me everyday. I was in the hospital for 9 days. I was interviewed with my parents on all 3 Denver news stations.  I told the newscaster ¨don’´t eat Magnetics.¨ The Chicago Tribune also came to our house to do an interview.

The next year, I went with my dad to Washington, DC to advocate for recalled products such as toys that were still on shelves. When I saw the plane I told my dad it was humongous! My favorite part of the plane was when I found out it had a bathroom. He told me that I asked him to go every 45 minutes. When I was in DC I loved looking at the statues and the tall buildings. The statues and sculptures inside the capitol were my favorite. Before I knew it we were back in Colorado.