A little boy has been in a coma with serious brain damage for more than a month after accidentally swallowing a balloon.

Siberian boy Andrey, whose surname has not been revealed, from Tyumen, Russia, picked up a deflated balloon and put it in his mouth during an outdoor walk at his nursery school without his school teachers seeing. The four-year-old accidentally swallowed it.

He immediately started feeling unwell and soon after lost consciousness.

Distressed staff swiftly called an ambulance to take Andrey to the hospital where doctors discovered and removed the foreign object.

But Andrey’s condition deteriorated and he fell into a coma in which he’s remained for a month and a half.

Doctors describe his condition as critical and say he has suffered brain damage to his cerebral cortex. Medical staff are reportedly doing their best to revive Andrey but say there is no way of repairing a damaged cerebral cortex.

Local police have launched an investigation into the incident and are considering filing negligence charges against nursery staff.

Meanwhile, Andrey’s family is trying to find a private clinic to treat him in the hopes that he’ll recover.

Source: Magazine Features