Girl, 10, nearly chokes to death after swallowing fidget spinner

Kelly Rose Joniec spoke of her horror after her daughter Britton managed to get the toy – the latest playground craze – lodged in her throat while sitting in the back of the car.

While driving back from a swim event in Texas, Kelly said she heard Britton making an “odd retching noise” in the back seat.

She wrote on Facebook: “We had a pretty eventful Saturday.

“On the way home from a fun swim meet, I heard Britton make an odd retching noise in the back seat as I was driving.

“Looking back in the mirror, I saw her face turning red and drool pouring from her mouth – she could utter noises but looked panicked so I immediately pulled over.

“She pointed to her throat saying she’d swallowed something, so I attempted Heimlich but there was no resistance.

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“She said she’d put part of her fidget spinner in her mouth to clean it and somehow swallowed it.”

Kelly rushed Britton to doctors, who were unable to locate where the toy was, and she was transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital where an X-ray discovered it lodged in her esophagus

The “frantic” mum rushed her daughter to medical help but medics were unable to identify where the foreign object was located.

Transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital, an X-ray showed the spinner lodged in her esophagus.

Kelly added: “After multiple, very stressful attempts to place an IV, Britton was taken to surgery to endoscopically locate and remove the object.

“Fortunately we had a positive outcome, but it was pretty scary there for a while… not only because of the initial ingestion, but then the concern about the composition and structure of the object, and finally, the risk with general anesthesia.”

Kelly’s post went viral and she now hopes it will serve as a warning to parents, who buy the colourful spinning devices for their children.

She said: “The bushings pop out easily, so if you have young kids (under eight-years-old) keep in mind that these present a potential choking hazard.”

Fidget spinners are advertised as a device to help people with autism or anxiety but have recently become incredibly popular with children.

Top pic: Rex/stock photo