Afghan Girl Swallows Battery, Struggles

Here's an interesting story from CNN about an Afghan girl whose life is threatened after swallowing a battery. It hasn't gotten much traction anywhere on the Web. Strange, as its definitely a human interest story, and one that any parent should take care to listen to.

Nazia is three-years-old, from Afghanistan. The young girl swallowed the battery in April after (foolishly) being given it to play with. Well, I will assume no one in the U.S. would do that.

Things in Afghanistan are not as in the U.S. No ERs, so by the time she was taken to American military doctors, her esophagus was so damaged she has had to have several operations. And in fact, she can't talk because of scarred vocal cords.

Col. Scott Jones says:

We've sent her home twice now. She's returned within a week to 10 days with severe pneumonia and very severe breathing problems. Her airway has narrowed so much, if you think about a Dole pencil, you look at the lead, the tip of a Dole pencil, that's is how small the opening is to her lungs. So you can imagine, you cannot breathe through that.

The massive scarring within her airway requires complex surgery. Cincinnati Children's Hospital is trying to help, and is raising funds for Nazia. Worst, however, according to the report, is that Nazia cannot survive the dusty climate in Afghanistan without that surgery.

It's possible you might be able to help, by contacting Cincinnati Children's Hospital and asking about a fund for the girl who "swallowed a battery." Let's hope she gets the help she needs.

You can watch the CNN Video here.