Parents and teachers are able to attest that fidget spinners are everywhere. Now, the surgeons at a Texas hospital can say the toy craze has even come into their operating room, though in an fairly alarming way.
Earlier this week, Houston resident Kelly Rose Joniec posted on Facebook about a scary moment with her 10-year-old daughter. Joniec was ferrying the child home from a swim meet when choking sounds starting coming from the backseat.
“Looking back in the mirror, I saw her face turning red and drool pouring from her mouth — she could utter noises but looked panicked so I immediately pulled over,” wrote Joneic. “She pointed to her throat saying she’d swallowed something, so I attempted Heimlich but there was no resistance. She said she’d put part of her fidget spinner in her mouth to clean it and somehow swallowed it.”
Joniec’s daughter had evidently detached a metal bushing from one of the toy’s blades and gotten it stuck in her throat.
(Image credit: Rex Features via AP Images)
After a stop at an urgent care facility, the patient was transported by ambulance to Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. According to Joniec’s post, the gastroenterologist who handled the case had coincidentally only learned about fidget spinners that morning, on a trip to the mall with his son.
Once an x-ray revealed that the fidget spinner part was lodged in the patient’s esophagus, she was taken to the OR. The piece was was located and removed with endoscopic surgery.
Surgery went well and Joniec reported the patient was recovery well. In a statement, the Joniec family told CNN, “our full attention and focus is on caring for our daughter and ensuring she continues to lead a healthy life.”
Joniec noted she told her story in order to warn other parents about the potential choking hazard with fidget spinners. By Friday morning, Joniec’s Facebook post about the incident had been shared over 765,000 times.
