The Little Girl and the Plastic Needle

Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who had a habit of putting things in her mouth. Sometimes it would be the end of a blanket or the hem of her dress, or the foot of a stuffed animal. One day, she had finished sewing up a cute little felt bear and while Mom was giving Marshall a bath, she began playing with the left-over craft supplies, like sequins, ribbon, and thread. She found the pink, plastic needle and decided to put it in her mouth, just to see what kind of texture it had. All of a sudden, the needle went down in a big swallow. It made Macy gag and cough a little bit and she became very, very scared. Mom called her in to take a bath, and after the bath, she knew she needed to tell her mom what happened. She reluctantly said, "Mommy, I accidentally swallowed that stringy thing." Mom grew concerned and said, "What did you swallow? Come show me on the box!" Macy pointed to the long, pink, plastic needle. Mom grabbed the box, Macy, and Marshall and drove quickly to North Central Baptist Hospital. The doctor said the needle probably wouldn't show up on an x-ray, but Macy's mom insisted. Everyone was very worried and scared. No sight of the needle! He just said, "Give her lots of bread and start checking her poop every day!" The next day, Macy's pediatrician, Dr. Gunsburg, ordered an endoscopy at Methodist Children's Hospital. It was a great place to be because everything in the hospital was just for kids. Macy loved the nurses, especially Mary, but she didn't like it when the anesthesiologist began to put a gas mask over her nose and mouth. When the doctor finished, he came out and said, "There is no needle in her stomach, but it looks like there is a little scratch where it may have passed through her esophagus. Also, she has signs of acid reflux. Give her lots of liquids, and continue checking her poop."

Macy felt fine for the next few days, and Mommy, Daddy, and Mimi continued checking her poop, to no avail. Six days later, Mommy was a bit upset and went to the doctor with Macy at 8:00 AM. The doctor could tell this was a very concerned Mommy and ordered a CT scan at Methodist Children's Hospital. It was a long, frustrating day, and Macy didn't get anything to eat until about 3:00! The CT scan showed that everything looked normal---no plastic needle could be seen. The doctor said the needle could be lodged in a little place that doesn't cause Macy any pain or harm. We know it is made of a non-toxic material, because Mommy called the company that made the sewing bear kit and they told her. The doctor said, "As long as she is not in any pain, you'll need to stop worrying about it. It may be with her forever." Macy said, "I'm so glad we finished sewing the little bear, since the needle is gone now!"