In the fall of 2022, Folichia Mitchell of Berwick, Maine, experienced every parent's worst nightmare. Her 9-month-old daughter Kennedy suddenly wasn't feeling well, showing signs of lethargy and a loss of appetite. By the time Mitchell rushed her to a nearby hospital on November 1, the little girl was even starting to throw up bile.
Little did Mitchell know that this was just the beginning of a terrifying medical ordeal that would trigger a lengthy hospital stay and a touch-and-go health scare.
As it turned out, Kennedy had swallowed a water bead
The small toy had been a part of a sensory kit that Mitchell bought her then-8-year-old son, who has autism. But at some point when her back was turned, Kennedy had apparently ingested one of them, which later swelled inside her body.
As Mitchell recently told People, doctors found the obstruction during an ultrasound and immediately recommended surgery.
"He showed me on the screen, and you could see this circular obstruction in her intestines," the Maine mother recalled. "And he explained it's black inside, which tells us that it's filled with fluid, so a water bead would make sense."
A four-hour surgery soon followed, and luckily, it was successful
"They said that they went through the intestines and felt with their hands and that they didn't find any more or believed that there was any more," Mitchell told the outlet.
But sadly, removing the water bead wasn't the end of her daughter's suffering.
@fo_bby4 #waterbeadinjury #processing #mykenny #picu #healingtok #keeppraying #prayersneeded #thankyou #warriorbaby #waterbeads #dangerous #resilient #mylove ♬ Notion – Tash Sultana
"After almost 12 hours, [Kennedy] didn't improve," Mitchell shared. "She was just as sick as she was, and they had to put the NG tube back down to suck out the bile that she would have still been throwing up, because at that point her intestines weren't working anymore."
As Kennedy's condition worsened, doctors began to suspect an infection
The 9-month-old's organs weren't functioning properly, and for the second time since she was hospitalized, Mitchell said that doctors feared her baby wouldn't make it through the night.
When she did, doctors ordered a second surgery, during which Kennedy's intestines were removed and placed in something called a silo bag to relieve swelling in her body. She was also placed on a ventilator to facilitate with her breathing.
@fo_bby4 I am EXHAUSTED today #mykenny #waterbeadinjury #picu #healingtiktok #keeppraying #recovery #warriorbaby #healingtok #momx4✨ ♬ original sound – Folichia Mitchell
Looking back now, Mitchell says the whole thing was pretty risky
"It was kind of experimental," she told People. "They didn't know if it would work, but it immediately started relieving the pressure. It was just a waiting game to see if she'd make it to the next day and through the next night."
Remarkably, she did, and in the days that followed, doctors removed parts of her intestines that had apparently corroded due to infection. When they were finished, and Kennedy seemed ready, another surgery was performed to put the organ back inside the 9-month-old.
Then, after four weeks of being hospitalized, she finally headed home.
@fo_bby4 #mykenny #warriorbaby #kennedyjanem #prayingeveryday #processing #healingtiktok #momx4✨ #kennysmom✨ #grateful #thankful ♬ Something in the orange –
Throughout the entire ordeal, Mitchell leaned on her family
She also found herself sharing the story, as it unfolded, on TikTok, where a growing number of people tuned in every day to lend their support.
"Sharing it online took the pressure off of me being alone, and it gave me a chance to be able to digest the information that I was being given," Mitchell told People. "I'm making a video, going over that information again, and then people really started caring just so much about Kenny."
"That gave me something hopeful to hold on to, and every day and every week, there were people who literally have no idea who my infant baby daughter is and they care so much," the mother continued. "They want to know how she's doing. I definitely think it gave some kind of energy that helped her."
@fo_bby4 We are thr voice for our children #justiceforkennedy #kennysmom✨ #momx4✨ #waterbeadinjury #waterbeadsaredangerous #changeorg ♬ original sound – ⓒⓐⓜ
Today, Kennedy is 13 months old and still making progress every day
Still, her mother says she'll never forget those harrowing four weeks she spent praying by her daughter's bedside, unsure of whether she would even live.
That's why Mitchell is still speaking out about what happened, in hopes of warning other parents about the dangers that water beads pose. She's also become an outspoken critic of the toy, and has joined forces with another mom whose child suffered a similar accident back in 2017.
Texas mom Ashley Haugen discovered her 13-month-old daughter Kipley had also swallowed a water bead when her back was turned. She rushed the toddler to a local ER when she started projectile vomiting, and later learned her daughter had toxic brain encephalopathy, a brain injury that occurs when the body is exposed to heavy metals.
@fo_bby4 Its the blatant disregard for your customers children that gets me #dobetter #target #chuckleandroar #buffalogames #waterbeadinjury #waterbeadsaredangerous #waterbeadscanbetoxic #waterbeadsarenotatoy #protectourchildren ♬ Boy's a liar Pt. 2 – PinkPantheress & Ice Spice
After hearing Haugen's story and learning how similar it was to her own, Mitchell knew she couldn't stay silent.
"That really pushed me to keep talking about it because that is what made me feel really angry with the company is that I feel like I didn't get to make an informed choice when I bought the water beads," Mitchell shared. "I didn't get to know. And so if I had seen, 'If they're ingested, you should seek medical attention or could cause organ damage or could block the lungs — because I know specifically of a child who had it get lodged in his lung — then maybe I would have been able to make a different choice."
Now Mitchell is not only raising awareness about Haugen's story, but also encouraging her followers to sign her Change.org petition, which calls for the toy to be banned from being sold.
Today, Mitchell still struggles to cope with what happened
It's even led her to seek therapy for PTSD, which she admits she was experiencing well before Kennedy's medical scare. Unfortunately, the water bead incident only compounded much of the fear and anxiety she was already having.
@fo_bby4 Sometimes even when its hard you have to stand up and ask for help #mentalhealth #momx4✨ #backhomejourney #waterbeadinjury #kennyjane✨ #mentalhealthmatters #askforhelp ♬ original sound – Folichia Mitchell
But she's also well aware of just how lucky she is that baby Kennedy made it through.
@fo_bby4 #waterbeadinjury #kennedyjanem #kennyjane✨ #waterbeadsaredangerous #waterbeadsarenotatoy #kennysmom✨ #justiceforkennedy #warriorbaby #momx4✨ #waterbeadscanbetoxic #picu #prayingforher ♬ original sound – youhavethelyricsnowsing
"I have moments every single day where it just kind of washes over me, like how lucky I am to have been able to bring her home and to have her home," Mitchell said. "We had her first birthday party last month, and even with Valentine's Day, I'm just constantly reflecting on it."
@fo_bby4 I’m sorry you got hurt #mykenny #kennedyjanem #kennysmom✨ #justiceforkennedy #waterbeadinjury #momx4✨ #warriorbaby #prayingeveryday #backhomejourney #grateful #processing #healingtiktok #waterbeadsaredangerous ♬ Pretty Please – Live Acoustic Version – Sonja Midtune
