Any parent can attest to how frightening it may be to safeguard their children from basic threats. A young child may feel danger in a range of environments, including furniture, food, and the environment.

A mother’s worst nightmare came true in Portland, Maine, when her infant daughter was hurt by an apparently benign item in their home.
Folichia Mitchell is raising four wonderful children, three boys and Kennedy Jane, a 9-month-old girl. Kennedy Jane inhaled a water bead late in October, and she is still fighting for her life today.

Water beads are one of many popular sensory-based toys these days, and they can be used safely as long as a child utilizes them under adult supervision. They grow to the size of a stone when they come into contact with water.

Unfortunately, Kennedy Jane ingesting it was quite dangerous. After being consumed, the bead swelled to half an inch in size before entering her intestines and rupturing them.

Her mother was unaware of her unhappiness until she stopped feeding properly because babies were still unable to fully convey their emotions.

According to Mitchell, “She went two days without eating anything.” When we got to Portland Hospital, she had not even been removed off the stretcher when she began vomiting bile.

“The bead obstructed her small intestine, causing it to enlarge so much that it seeped into her body, resulting in sepsis and an infection,” the child’s mother explained. She had three procedures this week. Her heart was beating, her kidneys were hurting, and her lungs were working hard.

In the meantime, a family member set up a GoFundMe account to pay the family’s bills, including Kennedy’s care in the pediatric intensive care unit and continuing to provide for her three brothers.

Kennedy Jane has been in the hospital since October 31, although there are signs that she is improving. Her surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, but her body is still fighting a variety of viruses.

Her mother had no idea that something so simple could be so dangerous. The item is undeniably a choking hazard, as stated on the warning label, but Mitchell had no idea it would have such a negative impact on her daughter’s organs.

According to Mitchell, parents are unable to make an informed selection before purchase. “I would never have bought these and brought them into my house if I had seen ‘toxic if consumed, can cause obstruction’.”

Kennedy Jane’s mother has begun to advocate for clearer warnings on water beads in order to ensure that what happened to her daughter does not happen to anyone else. She elaborates:

I simply hope that people think positively of my daughter and pray for her to get through this.