KCTV 5: Doctors sound off on magnets being marketed as toys

By Brad Stephens

He’s full of energy and full of the giggles, but back in early June he suddenly got sick in the middle of the night.  

"So I get up, I come and see what’s going on. He has vomit all over him and all over the bed," said Elijah's mom Jenna Avila.  

Avila says her son remained violently ill throwing up 4 more times and complaining of stomach pains. Elijah’s pediatrician recommended a trip to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a stomach virus and sent home. He seemed fine for several days, but then he got sick again. They returned to the ER and got the same diagnosis – probably just a stomach bug. So Elijah went back home and began feeling better for a couple of weeks and then.... 

"Then after that it was just pain. He would complain my tummy hurts. My tummy hurts. My tummy hurts."  

Sick again, Elijah was taken to the ER for a third time where mom was given the same diagnosis, she had received the first two times. But this time, she pushed back and demanded doctors do something.  

"That’s when he said, 'You know, for your peace of mind, I’ll do an x-ray.'” 

The Avilas live in Topeka, but doctors there told her the mystery object in Elijah’s stomach meant he had to make an emergency trip to Children’s Mercy. Turns out Elijah had been playing with small magnets that weren’t his and his mother had no idea he had been putting them in his mouth.  

"Unfortunately, this is definitely not the first case I’ve seen like this," said Dr. Kenneth Schmidt.

Watch the full story via KCTV

Learn about Ways to Prevent Injuries by Toys