Billboard shares a lifesaving message

A potentially lifesaving message has gone on display in one of Torquay’s most prominent locations as part of a button battery awareness campaign.

The billboard advertisement was launched on Friday (November 27) on the eve of what would have been Isabella Ree’s eighth birthday but who sadly died at the age of 14 months old.

Isabella’s mum, Allison, attended the billboard launch which is being displayed on the wall next to Strapper Surf shop on the Surf Coast Highway.

Alison said she was “overwhelmed but also feeling very proud” at seeing the first billboard ad go up.

She hopes its message to keep dangerous batteries out of reach of children will help to ensure no other family would suffer the pain of losing a child to a button battery ingestion.

Isabella tragically died due to injuries caused by ingesting a button battery and became the second Australian child to die after swallowing one of the small circular lithium batteries.

According to Kidsafe Victoria, which co-ordinated the campaign, 20 children present to hospital emergency departments with button battery-related injuries every week in Australia.

Kidsafe Victoria CEO Melanie Courtney said it was hoped both locals and tourists alike would take on board the important safety warning.

“This outdoor advertising billboard is positioned within a high traffic location in Torquay for locals and tourists at a time of year when many families start buying Christmas presents and cards that may contain button batteries,” she said.

“The aim of the campaign is to build greater awareness of the hazard that button batteries pose to young children.”

The billboard campaign is a collaboration between Kidsafe Victoria and Bella’s Footprints – a foundation started by Allison only two months after Isabella died.