Age 7 Boy Rushed to ER After Swallowing AirPod
Kids of all ages test boundaries all the time. Sometimes it’s to learn about general laws of nature, sometimes it’s to test the limits of their parents’ patience and seriousness, and sometimes it’s really rather inexplicable.
Toddlers are expected to put everything they can into their mouths. It’s a terrifying time for parents, when inanimate objects that were nearly invisible before become potential choking hazards — but it doesn’t always end as the kid nears double digits in age.
Kiara Stroud of Dekalb County, Georgia, now knows that better than most, since her son QJ swallowed something she’d never imagined he’d try to. The 7-year-old had gotten a coveted gift for Christmas: AirPods.
According to what Stroud told WSB-TV, her son was “holding it in his mouth by the long part,” and then it was in his stomach. She wrote in a post that it was her son’s caregiver who first explained the situation to her.
“Then ended up telling me they were rushing QJ to Egleston and that he had choked on his AirPod and ended up swallowing it,” she wrote. “Drove my mail truck back on 2 wheels crying like a baby.’
“I can’t make this up,” she shared on Saturday, along with an x-ray showing the location of the AirPod in the boy’s body. “My child, my child. Thanks for all of the prayers. We’re home. No more airpods for this kid.”
Apparently, it was the first time the doctor had seen such a thing. At first, she didn’t even know what the item was.
“She was like, ‘An AirPod? You know, it’s really unique. I never really heard of this,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a wireless headset,’ and she was just amazed,” Stroud recounted to WSB-TV. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The AirPods had come with a new phone that the boy had also gotten for Christmas, though after swallowing the ear piece he was a little leery of operating his phone.
“He was like, ‘Mom. I don’t want my phone,’ because he got a phone for Christmas as well, and he’s like, ‘I don’t want to be near my phone. I don’t want it to connect to my phone and start playing music,'” Stroud explained. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ He’s a crazy kid.”
Thankfully, doctors didn’t have to operate and told the family that this, too, shall pass.
Stroud did write in her Facebook post that she didn’t shame her son, and that he was already scared about the whole situation.
“Funny thing about QJ; his dad’s parents aren’t new to this AT ALL,” she added. “His dad kept them on their toes and now here they are, just sticking by my side through it all like PRO’S. Today was one of the days we’ll look back on, thank God that everything was okay and laugh at when he’s older.”
“One thing I can say about QJ, that boy is getting his childhood’s worth and making sure that my job doesn’t get more work out of me than he does.”
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