Gerrard Kaonga
A man’s breakfast at a diner turned into a horror movie after a cough and sneeze resulted in his intestines falling out of his body.
What was meant to be a celebration of good health drastically changed in an instant.
A Florida man was eating breakfast with his wife when a cough and sneeze resulted in a freak injury that stunned paramedics.
According to the American Journal of Medical Case Reports, the 63-year-old noticed a ‘wet’ sensation followed by a sharp pain after the sneeze.
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He then lifted up his shirt saw several inches of bowel were sticking out of a recent surgical wound on his abdomen.
Amazingly, the man’s first thought was to drive himself to the hospital.
He then thought better of it, fearing he could make the injury worse, and his wife called for an ambulance.
Paramedics arrived within five minutes and said they observed a three-inch opening with ‘large amounts of bowel’ protruding through it.
While the man’s shirt was soaked with bodily fluid, the paramedics observed minimal bleeding. The medical staff even remarked that they had never seen such an injury and were ‘unsure of the best treatment’ as normal protocols had not prepared them for this.
The paramedic did know the intestines needed to be kept moist so covered them in saline and wrapped the man in a gauze around his abdomen before driving him to hospital.
Two weeks prior the Florida man had undergone surgery for complications related to prostate cancer. The surgery was successful and doctors had sent the patient home in a good condition.
The morning of the incident the man had even had his wound examined and sutures removed. The breakfast at the diner was meant to be a celebration for his improving health.
When the man did arrive at the hospital he was rushed to an operating room where multiple doctors decided on the best cource of action.
Thankfully, they found no damage to his bowel and were able to place it back inside his body and closed the wound up with both internal and external stitches.
He then remained in the hospital for the next few days while they recovered and suffered no other complications.
After six days he was deemed well enough to go home and one can only hope his next sneeze or cough won't result in a trip to the hospital.