A devastated family is grieving for the loss of a 2-year-old who died just days after celebrating Christmas.
The family of Brianna Florer, a Tulsa, Oklahoma toddler who swallowed a battery and died only two days after Christmas, have launched a GoFundMe to help pay for the young girl’s final expenses, Your Nation News reports. Brian and Stephanie Florer, Brianna’s parents, are grieving and dealing with the aftermath of their daughter’s tragic passing.
Brianna celebrated Christmas with her family, and received new toys as gifts. The 2-year-old reportedly swallowed a small button battery at one point, but NY Daily News reports that she was still happy to open gifts at her grandparents’ house the day after Christmas, although she ran a low fever.
Kent Vice, Brianna’s grandfather and a former county undersheriff, said that the girl was “fine” on Christmas day.
“It was a perfect Christmas,” said Vice.
On Sunday night, however, the toddler began to vomit and her skin took on a blue tint. Brian and Stephanie, concerned for their daughter’s wellbeing, took Brianna to the hospital in an ambulance.
“She threw up again,” Vice recalled. “It was a massive amount of blood, and they rushed her to the Grove hospital.”
After doctors determined that the battery had been lodged in Brianna’s throat, she was taken into surgery.
“They operated on her for 2 1/2 hours, but they couldn’t stop the bleeding,” said Vice. “They believed the battery [acid] ate through to her carotid artery by way of her esophagus. … We had no idea when she swallowed it.”
Brianna passed away two days after Christmas. A medical examiner said that the official cause of death would likely be determined in two to four months.
Vice said that he wants to keep button batteries like the one that Brianna swallowed out of homes, because he believes they’re dangerous. There were reportedly 53 deaths caused by swallowing button batteries in 2015, according to the Oklahoma poison control center.
