ATLANTA — An Atlanta mother is issuing a powerful warning to parents about the dangers of accidental poisoning during the pandemic after her toddler daughter ingested lighter fluid.
Two-year-old Tess is now back home recovering from life-threatening injuries. Her mother, whose identity has not been released, is a pediatric nurse.
The mother posted Tess’s story via Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta on Sunday. The hospital said Tess’s mom is sharing her story in hopes of preventing the same thing from happening to other children.
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“Parents, please read: With families spending so much time at home, poison control teams are seeing a rise in accidental ingestion among kids,” CHOA wrote.
Tess’s mom revealed details of the horrifying moments her daughter got a hold of the poison.
“While playing in the backyard, something by the fire pit caught Tess’s eye. Unfortunately, that something was a mostly empty bottle of lighter fluid," her mom said in a statement to CHOA. "In an instant, she tilted the bottle up to her lips and took a sip."
The bottle was nearly empty, but the lighter fluid wreaked havoc on Tess’ digestive tract.
Parents, please read: With families spending so much time at home, poison control teams are seeing a rise in accidental...
Posted by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on Sunday, May 3, 2020
"Soon, my little girl had turned grayish-blue and stopped breathing,"her mom wrote. "As a nurse, I knew this was serious. Very serious. We called 911 and arrived at Children’s in an ambulance."
Tess's mom said that after a very scary 24 hours her daughter began to recover and the family was able to take her home later that week.
"Not all kids are so lucky," her mom said. "On behalf of all parents, I beg you: Check your home and yards for chemical hazards. It’s not just the bottles in your medicine cabinet or under the sink you need to worry about."
She is encouraging parents to check everywhere, even places they think are out of reach like the yard, garage, porch and shelves.
“It can and does happen in seconds—the amount of time it takes to send a text message or scroll past a Facebook post,” she wrote.
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