‘My daughter almost died after swallowing magnetic balls from fidget toy’

A Hull toddler had to have a major operation after she swallowed magnetic balls from a fidget toy and fell severely ill.

Meliyah-Jayd, 2, suffered 10 days of painful symptoms, including vomiting dark green liquid and screaming in agony. During the terrifying ordeal, mum Jade Lee Berriman – who did not know that her daughter had swallowed the little beads – feared “in her gut” that “her girl was leaving her”

After Jade fought for a diagnosis, doctors conducted scans and X-rays and found that the 4mm balls had burned through the little girl’s bowel in four places. Meliyah-Jayd was rushed into surgery and had a large part of her bowel removed.

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Thankfully Meliyah-Jayd is now recovering. But mum-of-three Jade – who says “someone must have been watching over” her little girl – is speaking out to warn others about the potential dangers of such toys, which she bought for her older children.

Meliyah-Jayd, who will be three in November, began complaining about tummy ache on September 3. Jade did not think too much about it at first, but began worrying when her daughter stopped eating and then began to “wail in pain”.

She took Meliyah-Jayd to a walk-in clinic in Hull on September 6, but was sent home without medication. “She was seen pretty fast, but was diagnosed with an inflamed bowel and throat,” Jade said.

“I was informed it was viral and they recommended to cut out dairy in her diet, just in case she had developed an allergic reaction. I did everything the doctor said and the following day, she perked up, which led me to believe everything was fine.”

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Meliyah-Jayd enjoyed a swimming session and a trip to the park, but a few days later, she started to deteriorate again. On Sunday, September 10, she was sick and crying, prompting a visit to A&E.

“Her nan stepped in to take care of my other two children and we went to Hull Royal,” Jade said. “Her observations kept returning as normal but I just knew something wasn’t right.

“Because she was being sick and couldn’t stomach anything, we couldn’t give doctors a urine sample. They told us she had tonsillitis, but her dad and I really questioned it.

“We kept saying she told us the pain was in her stomach and the throat inflammation was from being sick, but they were adamant with that diagnosis and discharged us. We tried giving her the penicillin they gave us, but she just kept screaming and couldn’t stomach it.”

‘I can feel her leaving me’

The next day, Meliyah-Jayd managed to go to a play group, but she still wasn’t eating and a long afternoon nap sparked concern for her parents. After a rocky night that Monday, her symptoms became severe and Jade rushed her to an urgent treatment centre in Beverley.

Jade said: “They were absolutely amazing and got her in really quickly. Although her observations came back as normal again, the doctor really fought for her to be admitted [to Hull Royal] because of how pale and lethargic she was.

“We returned to hospital with a letter from the doctor and after about four hours, she was admitted to the Acorn ward [which cares for children and young people]. We spent a night there and the next morning, I collared a doctor and just begged him for help.”

Jade remembers crying and pleading with the doctor to help. She remembers saying: “She’s dying, I can feel her leaving me, there’s something you’re overlooking.”

The mum-of-three said somebody felt Meliyah-Jayd’s tummy and realised something wasn’t right. An ultrasound scan was carried out and found a huge amount of fluid in her stomach, despite her being sick and dehydrated for days. When removed through a tube in her nose, the fluid was a dark-green colour.

“This was when the doctors knew there was a blockage and sent her for an X-ray,” Jade said. “Within seconds of being scanned, they found the problem and I immediately knew it was these magnetic beads.

“I had bought them well before Meliyah was even born for my older children, who enjoy playing with fidget toys. As they are not usually played with, I didn’t even think to throw them away.”

Meliyah-Jayd was rushed into theatre for a four-hour operation and, after it was discovered the balls had burned four holes through her bowel, she had a large part of it removed. “The surgeon didn’t know how she was still alive,” Jade said.

“Similar cases have had children in a critical condition within two days and they think the balls were in there for around 12 days. I couldn’t believe my little superhero had fought for all that time – someone must have been watching over her.”

After a successful operation and five days on a high-dependency care unit, Meliyah-Jayd was able to go home. The incident has left the family of five feeling “very grateful”, but aware that the drama could have been a different outcome.

“I am so glad I trusted my gut and wouldn’t let it go,” Jade said. “However, I feel so guilty that it came to this. I am with Meliyah all the time and can only think I must have been in the toilet or putting washing in when she swallowed the balls.”

She added: “I am pleading to parents not to buy anything like this, even for much older children, because it is too easy for them to ingest it. A doctor said even 15-year-olds doing ‘piercing challenges’ on TikTok have accidentally swallowed these.

“I will be watching her like an absolute hawk from now on, even taking her to the toilet with me. We can adjust to her new needs and diet, but I could never adjust to not having my baby girl.”

Jade praised the actions of the doctors and surgeons at Hull Royal, but said she wished the problem had been detected during her first visit to the emergency department. A spokesperson for the Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal, said: “We are very sorry to hear that the care Meliyah-Jayd received did not meet the expectations of her family.

“We currently have no record of the family contacting us via our PALS or complaints teams, but we would encourage them to do so in order that we can investigate appropriately. We are glad to hear that Meliyah-Jayd is recovering now and that she and her mother were happy with the care they received after she was admitted to hospital.”

Meliyah-Jayd will hopefully make a full recovery, but could potentially need a stoma, depending on her progress. The Berriman family have even managed to get a smile out of her and can’t wait to see her return to the funny and bubbly girl she was before her illness.