When a mother saw something odd in her infant son’s mouth, she rushed him to the doctor, who were concerned that he had a tumor until they discovered what the lump was.
Rowan Steiner, a Utah lady, was changing her nine-month-old baby Max’s diaper when he began to cry and she saw a lump in his mouth.
She took her child straight to the doctor, and the 30-year-old mother claimed that they had “never seen anything like it” and were completely confused about what the lump might be.
The dentist and pediatric oral surgeon who were referred to see little Max were unable to identify the blue lump and speculated that it might be a vascular tumor.
Before Max’s scheduled examination, another doctor looked at the lump and said it might be a man-made object rather than an indication of illness. The baby was ready for a CT scan.
It turned out that the presumed tumor had actually been a portion of a fidget toy that Max’s mother had purchased for one of her other children. He used a dental instrument to examine the edge of this unknown object, and it immediately came off.
Rowan said, “The head of the department used a dental pick and pried off the edge and it popped off. It was super violent and there was blood underneath because it had sucked on to his gum so tightly.”
“Then there was swelling around the edges to the point where people couldn’t see the edges of the toy. It was suctioned so tightly that it just wasn’t moving when people were touching it and feeling it.”
“Throughout the day the doctors had mentioned it could be a toy. We were totally open to the idea because I have five children and a nine-month-old wants to put everything in their mouth at that stage.”
She claimed that although there had been hints that it might be a toy, she had never anticipated it to be a component of a fidget toy. However, when she found out, her mother stated that it was the “best possible outcome” following the possibility that it was a tumor.
The mother clarified that before the department head took it out and verified what it was, she, the boy’s father, and several doctors all touched the toy component at different times.
Rowan expressed her relief that her son did not choke on the tiny thing in his mouth and that it did not turn out to be a tumor.
She said, “Ultimately just be really careful, especially with younger kids. I know the one that we bought was a cheaper brand from Amazon.”
“I know there are some thicker, higher-quality brands, but definitely keep an eye out; make sure that they’re in one piece when they’re playing with it.”