Mom Took Baby to the Hospital for the Flu & Learned She’d Swallowed Earring Back & Nearly Died

Tyrell Boyd/Facebook

It’s no secret that babies have an affinity for earrings. The shiny, swinging orbs are right in their line of vision and within arm’s reach. Naturally, babies think earrings are the perfectly designed toy. Earrings could actually make good playthings if children didn’t have the habit of putting small objects in their mouths and choking on them.

One conscious mother recognized this fact and avoided wearing earrings for this very reason. What she didn’t believe was that her 1-year-old daughter’s earrings would present the real threat.

After listening to a loud, rattling sound in her daughter Raelyn’s chest, Suzanne Boyd of Augusta, Georgia, believed her 1-year-old had the flu, The Mirror reported. She took her to the doctor, who prescribed a steroid treatment. But after a week, the girl’s symptoms did not improve. This time, Boyd took Raelyn to the children’s hospital. An X-ray revealed something shocking. 

There was an earring back stuck to Raelyn’s right lung. Suzanne and her husband Tyrell had decided to pierce their daughter’s ears months ago, when she was 3 months old. “I was terrified and asked myself if we did something wrong and if it was our fault. I’m assuming it was her own earring because I rarely wear them so she doesn’t pull it and, as a mum, I know babies like to pull on earrings,” she shared with The Mirror.

Suzanne noted that Raelyn likes to comfort herself by rubbing the back of her own ear. She could have pulled out the backing and inhaled it afterward. 

In order to remove it, doctors used a magnet to attract the 5mm-long earring back. Suzanne said the experience was terrifying. “To have her go under anesthesia is not something you’d think you have to go through as a parent,” she said.

Thankfully, the surgery was successful and the earring back didn’t present any additional problems in Raelyn’s body. She could have developed pneumonia and died if it had not been discovered.

Since then, Suzanne and Tyrell have replaced Raelyn’s earrings with pearl ones that have a back that screws on. Now on the other side, Suzanne is encouraging parents to listen to their intuition when it comes to their children. As for her own child, she told The Mirror she’s thankful. “I feel blessed that everything turned out okay,” she said.