Afghan Girl Swallows Battery

That sucks. You would think they would find a way to extract it. I just can't imagine with the medical technology we have today that there isn't more we can do about it. I used to eat quarters, dimes, and nickels myself. Later I heard you could go blind from doing that.

Barbara Starr on CNN Video tells the story of a very young Afghan girl whose life is in danger after swallowing an "AA" battery.

The girl is named Nazia and she is three-years-old. She ate the battery in April and as a result was left with no voice and dramatically damaged airways. U. S. military doctors have performed several operations because it took so long to get her to the military hospital.

Nazia has been returned to the hospital twice for additional treatment for severe pneumonia and breathing problems.

While Nazia is having a respite now, she is far from cured and, in fact, there is no guarantee she will live. As the military doctor said in the video, her airways are the size of a point of a dull pencil lead.

Cincinnati's Children's Hospital has offered to help Nazia and is trying to raise funds for her. To save her life, due to the extensive damage she has suffered, she needs intricate and specialized surgery

Two things working against Nazia are the poverty of Afghanistan and the land. It will be very difficult to raise money in a country that is fighting to survive. Further, the hot and dusty climate makes it almost impossible for Nazia to breathe.

Nazia was given the battery to play with. It is easy to criticize that but, it is just another consequence of war.

I know as a three-year-old I swallowed anything I could get my hands on which included assorted bugs and coins and one jawbreaker that lodged in my throat and nearly killed me.

In studying the makeup of an AA battery, it is easy to see how it would cause major damage if it got inside a person; it corrodes metal if the shell casing leaks. The odds of survival would be dicey even in the United States where there is excellent treatment let alone a country like Afghanistan.

The story of a three-year-old girl who eats a battery and is in peril should make us take pause. When we're stuffing ourselves with turkey and pie next week, maybe we should stop and think about Nazia. Better yet, give Cincinnati's Children's Hospital a call and offer to donate some money on Nazia's behalf.

References:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/11/20/starr.iyw.baby.nazia.cnn