HUNTINGBURG, Ind. – The parents of an 8-year-old southern Indiana girl who swallowed 20 marble-size steel balls and half as many magnets from a building set want the toy completely removed from stores.
Haley Lents of Huntingburg underwent emergency intestinal surgery last month in Indianapolis after she swallowed pieces from her Mega Brands Magnetix MagnaCase set.
She was taken to the emergency room for stomach pains, and an X-ray revealed the force from the magnets had torn her intestines in eight places.
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Doctors told Haley's parents her intestines looked like they had been punctured by eight gunshot wounds or stab-like holes, Haley's father told CBS' Early Show on Monday; it is being reported by cbsnews.com.
Haley, who spent two weeks in the hospital, is lucky to be alive, doctors said, according to cbsnews.com.
Jason Lents, Haley's father, told the Early Show he and his wife were in the same room as Haley when she ate the toy parts, but did not realize she had done so.
Haley's family plans to meet soon with an investigator from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to discuss ways to keep other children safe.
"We're going to work toward getting them out of the schools and off the shelves," Lents said.
Mega Brands recalled about 2.4 million of the Chinese-made toys in March because the small magnets could fall out. The recall said more than one magnet, if swallowed, could attach to each other and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage, which can be fatal.
Two years earlier, Mega Brands recalled 3.8 million Magnetix sets because one child died and four others were seriously injured after swallowing magnets in the toys.
In April 2007 that recall was expanded to include an additional 4 million Mega Brands magnetic toys.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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