Husband Grills Burgers, Wife Ends Up In Surgery — You Won’t Believe What She Ate

A dutiful husband was grilling burgers for his wife, but two days later she was rushed to the hospital and required surgery. You won’t believe what caused her stomach pain and if you plan on grilling this season, read on.

When 52-year-old Cheryl Harrison ate her husband’s delicious burgers two weeks ago, nothing was amiss, but later on she developed strong stomach pain and ended up in the emergency room. Harrison had a metal bristle — the ones from brushes you use to clean your grill — stuck in her intestine, and it was causing her to have unbearable pain.

Speaking to WTIC, Harrison said the bristle must have been perfectly positioned inside the burger, because she did not notice it until it was too late, according to WFSB.

“It was just a pain that I have never felt before. I felt my stomach was bloated… extremely tender to the touch. You could not even push on anything – just hurt my stomach.”

Within 48-hours of ingesting the burger, Harrison was feeling severe abdominal pain and was rushed to the hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. She had a suspicion her problem stemmed from the grill brush bristle, and the CAT scan confirmed her suspicions.

Dr. Aziz Benbrahim –the general surgeon at MidState Medical Center who performed the surgery to remove the bristle from Harrison’s stomach — says her situation is no laughing matter. Benbrahim added that Harrison was lucky the metal piece didn’t enter her small intestines, saying it could have been fatal and recalled a similar incident with a 50-year-old man.

“We have a kink, a right angle, and it does not negotiate it well, and at that time, it can make a hole in the intestine.

I had to open him up completely. Then we remove this wire and we found out also why he had chest pain — because he also had pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot in his lungs.”

In Harrison’s case, she was released from the hospital last week and is now recovering and expected to be just fine, but she won’t soon forget eating her husband’s burgers. However, her and her doctors wanted to bring attention to an activity which will be repeated millions of times during this summer.

“Visually check to see if any bristles hanging out or stuck on the grill. You just really don’t want that to happen to you,” the Connecticut woman said.

“Anyone who has abdominal pain which does not go away the next day or so, if it’s severe, should not dismiss it,” added Dr. Benbrahim. As a precaution, grills can be cleaned with aluminum foil or nylon brushes instead of wire brushes, then wiped down with a cloth and carefully inspected before food is cooked, CBS reports.

Make sure you pay close attention to your grilling surface before cooking this summer.

[Image via My Edmonds News]