Toy Found In Baby’s Throat After Two Weeks

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After mistakenly being diagnosed with tonsillitis, an operation done 2 weeks later, uncovered a tiny plastic angel trapped in a ten-month-old baby’s oesophagus.

It all started when 10-month Laith Atiga was crawling at his grandmother’s home, in Berkshire, when he suddenly started to cough. His mother, Jude, said when she turned to check on him, she found that he was struggling to breath.

“He turned blue and started to froth” and “His eyes started to roll.” She said.

Laith and his mom Jude live in New York, but were visiting the Grandmother in Berkshire.

Jude called 999 and emergency staff responded. They gave Laith oxygen upon arrival at the home and Laith responded well. He was even playing and laughing.

Laith was then given something to drink and it seemed that he was struggling, so they decided to take him to hospital for further investigation.

Laith was taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital where an X-ray came back clear but the following day he was sick once again. He had a fever and no appetite. However the next day, he seemed to recover.

Fast forward a few days and he was unwell once again. The Mom realized that something was terribly wrong.

After feeding him she noticed that he had chewed his food normally but then quickly regurgitated it in chewed form

Back to hospital and Laith was diagnosed with tonsillitis. Jude was given a local anaesthetic to spray at the back of Laith’s throat 20 minutes before meals in order to help him swallow.

Jude wasn’t convinced about the diagnosis and recommended treatment but tried it anyway. Laith however continued to struggle to swallow.

Jude then thought it would be best to give him pureed foods.

“I thought it best to give him a break from solids and started only giving him pureed soups and milkshakes.” Jude said “I continued to do this for two more days.”

A few days later, the regurgitating continued and in a state of panic she decided to call his doctors in New York.

“It happened shortly before bedtime,” she said “And had he not regurgitated it then, it could have caused him to choke in his sleep.”

The New York doctors told her to stop giving him solids completely as they are a serious choking hazard and only to give him liquids or stage-one pureed foods.

The family then traveled back to the U.S.

They went to a hospital in New York, where Laith was X-rayed once again and also seen by an ear, nose and throat specialist.

Everything came back clear yet again and they concluded that if there really was a problem it must be in the oesophagus.

“We were admitted, and at 08:00 on Saturday, 13 August, Laith was operated on, and a plastic angel, measuring almost 2cm [0.7in], was found in his oesophagus.”

The mother is traumatized by the entire ordeal.

“Ultimately, I shouldn’t have had to chase after medical providers for answers.” She said. “The duty of care given to children and babies should never be compromised.’

A representative of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust said:

“We were sorry to hear, through the BBC, of the young patient’s experience – but the family has not been in touch with the trust about this issue since their return to America.”

She also added that “We have raised this issue and are investigating it – but, to progress it further, it would be helpful if the family made formal contact with our patient liaison team directly.”