Three-year-old runs to sidewalk with plastic spoon in mouth, falls and cup of spoon breaks off, getting stuck in his throat.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Having a silver spoon in one’s mouth may be lucky, but not a disposable, plastic version lodged in one’s throat.Three-year-old Ehud was leaving his day-care center with a cup of ice cream when, upon arriving home, he ran to the sidewalk with the plastic spoon in his mouth, fell and the cup of the spoon broke off, becoming stuck in his throat.He had difficulty breathing, said doctors at Emek Medical Center in Afula, where he was rushed by ambulance with his parents.Dr. Dror Ashkenazi, an ear-nose-and-throat expert, saw that the base of the spoon was blocking his airways. He stuck a finger into the toddler’s throat carefully and managed to move the plastic piece to the side to allow respiration.His life was no longer threatened, said Ashkenazi. Using an endoscope suited specially for children as Ehud was put under general anesthesia, the doctor pulled out the spoon.The boy was transferred late last week to the recovery room and then to the pediatrics department. He was discharged on Sunday, to the satisfaction of his parents.The doctors urged parents not to allow young children to run while they have a foreign object in their mouth.