SO SAD: ‘I only turned my back for a second’: Parents’ anguish after their one-year-old son drinks OVEN CLEANER and suffers severe burns and kidney failure

A baby who drank OVEN CLEANER when his dad turned his back for a split second suffered kidney failure and severe burns to his face.

Elijah Mole, one, immediately began to choke after drinking the toxic chemicals when his father Jimmy was doing the cleaning.

The stricken toddler was taken to hospital where medics operated to reopen his airways and monitor Elijah after he suffered acute kidney failure.

Father Jimmy, a mobile games developer, had turned his back on his son to scrub the grill when he heard Elijah scream.

Jimmy, of Great Barr, Birmingham, said he saw his son’s face was burnt when he realised he had tried to drink the oven cleaner.

It was when he saw the bottle on the floor that he knew he had to call an ambulance.

He said: ‘I had turned my back for a second and Elijah just grabbed for the bottle and squeezed it into his mouth.

‘It was the worst day of my life to see my son in so much pain and I was powerless to do anything about it. I’m completely traumatised by it all, it’s every parent’s worst nightmare.

‘We hadn’t cleaned the house in a couple of weeks and because I had some spare time, I just thought I’d do a bit of the housework.

‘I was looking after Elijah all the time but both my sons will grab anything within their reach, it’s just such an awful accident.’

Jimmy said he blames himself for what happened and says people don’t know how dangerous ordinary household products can be.

Elijah suffered first degree burns to his face and second degree burns to his chest and back and was in intensive care at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Jimmy, Elijah’s mother Deanne, 39, and brother Jacob, three, have stayed at the hospital.

Jimmy said: ‘When I saw how Elijah was being burnt by the liquid I immediately ripped all of his clothes off him as I could see that it had soaked him and I just wanted it all to stop for him
‘My kids are everything to me and I’m distraught – I could never do that to my son.
‘There will always be a feeling of guilt. It was my fault.’

Jimmy and Deanne, who got married in San Francisco last month, have taken time off work, while Jimmy has put his university plans on hold to care for his son.
Deanne, an office administrator, said: ‘It has been an absolute rollercoaster for us and I feel so guilty about the incident. If only I hadn’t been at work and felt like I had to stay, it wouldn’t have happened.

‘It was a blow when Elijah’s kidneys failed because before that he had been getting better.
‘It was so overwhelming, our first time in hospital with our son. When a doctor tells you what is going on, it can be hard to take in. But fortunately the staff have been really patient with us.’

The family say they are looking forward to Elijah, who turned one in hospital, being discharged and plan to throw a belated birthday party for him.
Deanne has been at Elijah’s bedside for 12 hours a day since he was admitted on September 16.

He is now slowly recovering and recently managed to drink 100ml of squash and will begin on solid foods again this week.