Sam Anwar Alshameri was just 13 months old when he burnt off his tongue and suffered a heart attack after drinking the fluid – now dad Nadeen has told the Mirror of how the accident changed his son
A boy who suffered a heart attack and lost his tongue after he accidentally drank drain unblocker is ‘crying out all the time’ while his mouth is sealed shut, his dad has revealed.
Sam Anwar Alshameri is being fed through a tube directly into his stomach after he drank caustic soda from a white bottle on the floor in an accident at the family home in Highgate, Birmingham around six months ago.
The boy was just 13 months old at the time of the incident, which saw him rushed to hospital with burns to his mouth, lips and tongue before suffering a heart attack lasting several minutes, spending months in intensive care.
His dad, Nadeen Alshameri, 37, has since set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his son, and pay towards treatment and medicine.
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Now, father-of-four Nadeen has told the Mirror of the “struggle” he and his wife have endured since the horror accident, which happened at home while Sam was playing with his brothers and sister.
Sam’s mouth has effectively been “sealed shut” by the severe chemical burns, giving medics no option but to feed him through a tube before he was switched to tube feeding around a month ago.
But because he is so young, at just 18 months, Nadeen says Sam requires constant supervision, and struggles to understand why he is not able to explore the world around him like he did before.
Crying out in frustration, he often attempts to put things in his mouth, despite doctors telling the family this could cause further damage.
“Every day I’m just struggling just keeping him away from everything. I can put him in his room, but he starts crying. He wants attention most of the time. That’s why after the accident happened, he literally cried all the time, and he’s scared”, the dad explained.
“He’s normally feeds [through the tube] overnight, but gets frustrated when he wakes in the morning. He wants to eat anything, anything he sees in front of him – tissue papers, anything he tries to put in his mouth, he’s hungry – and he’s too young to understand.”
Since he last spoke to the media, Nadeen has received a phone call from the NHS Birmingham Children’s Hospital telling him that they are hoping to offer his son new treatment within the next few weeks.
Doctors intend first to surgically open his mouth before deciding on further operations to improve his quality of life.
“They told me there will be a few operations. But they said we’ll open his mouth first and they will see what’s inside, what they can do for him. But at the moment, because they don’t know, they cannot see his mouth, they cannot see nothing in his mouth because it’s been sealed. So the plan is they’re going to open his mouth.
“Three weeks, four weeks ago, they checked his mouth and said his tongue is half-gone. But we don’t know what’s going on at the moment.”
“Hopefully this starts within a week or two weeks, because they’ve got about a few doctors and surgeons, and they have to decide what’s the best they can do it for him. So I’m just really waiting for them to do it. It’s the NHS, they are almost always busy – but I really appreciate what they did.”
Mr Alshameri is also looking to speak to any medical professionals who have performed reconstructive surgery following similar accidents involving children – whether they are based in Britain or “anywhere in the world” – to get the best possible care for Sam.
Since launching three days ago, Nadeem Alshameri’s GoFundMe page for Sam has raised over £3,100 of its £9,000 target, with the father telling the Mirror he is grateful for all the support he has received so far.
