Tennessee Valley family has a warning for button batteries in your home
Decatur, AL
A Decatur family's warning is receiving national attention after an item forever changed their lives in 2010.
The McNutt family rushed their 11-month-old baby Gabriel to the hospital after parents, Adam and Leslie, say he was pale, unresponsive, and hardly breathing.
"They're doing x-ray and trying to figure out what's there," says Adam.
After long excruciating hours doctors finally found the problem, a nickle sized button battery was stuck behind his throat and they quickly got to work removing it.
"The doctors came back to us and said, you know 99% of the time there are no complications," says Adam.
Unfortunately, the McNutt's were part of the one-percent and the complications came quickly.
Just days after the family returned home symptoms reappeared.
"She laid him on his back and as she did that he was not able to breath. He was gasping for air," explains Adam.
But, miraculously, Gabriel is now 6-years-old and healthy.
And the McNutt's want to use their story to raise awareness, to let other parents know how easily this could happen to them.
"We're excited that this story is coming out because as Christmas approaches, a lot of parents are going to be buying toys and be buying other items that have what Gabriel got inside of him," says Adam.
The button battery can be found in various items from wrist watches, greeting cards, and remote controls.
The McNutt's say the experience not only brought them closer together, but kept them aware of their surrounds.
"You think about the simple things but you never think about that one thing that will change your life forever," says Adam.
The McNutt family's story aired on Thursday's episode of Monsters Inside Me on Animal Planet at 9p.m. central time.
There Adam and Leslie share their struggles through the emotional roller coaster, reveal the cause of their problem, and what parents should be on the lookout for.
You can find more information on the McNutt family and their journey on their Facebook page.