A sip of water turned into an hours-long nightmare for 8-year-old Jayla Small and her mother.
My Fox Atlanta reports that Small was at cheerleading practice last Thursday when the metal, small-mouthed water bottle got stuck to her tongue.
When her coaches couldn't get it off, they called 911. Paramedics had no better luck so they rushed Small to an Atlanta children's hospital.
Doctors tried punching holes in the can and cutting the bottom of the bottle off, but Small's tongue continued to swell, pushing the bottle back in Small's mouth and causing her to choke.
Doctor's decided to put Small under anesthesia and were then able to pull the bottle off, eight-hours after the whole ordeal began.
Though it might seem unlikely, this hellish scenario has played out before.
In 2010, ABC News reported on a similar case in which a 6-year-old Philadelphia girl got her tongue stuck in a metal water bottle. She was rushed to the hospital to have emergency surgery in which the bottle was cut off her swollen tongue. Dr. Robert O'Reilly, a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist, told ABC that anyone can get their tongue stuck in a water bottle, but the aluminum bottle with grooves inside the neck "acted almost like a noose around her tongue."
"Depending on how sharp they are, if you get [your tongue] in, it will grab so you can't pull it out," O'Reilly said. "Clearly people need to be aware that this is a potential danger."
Attending physician Dr. Walter Lee told an NPR blogger what parents should do if their child finds themselves stuck.
"The main thing is to trust your parental instinct," Lee said. "You can try to get if off, but if the kid is screaming in pain or is uncooperative there's no shame in showing up at the emergency room."
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