Sea Snail In Knee: 4-Year-Old Boy’s Knee Swells To ‘The Size Of An Orange’

A Sea Snail found lodged in the knee of little Paul Franklin from Aliso Viejo could have been much more serious had it not been found by his mother. Not least because the snail found in Paul’s knee was actually alive!

The young toddler had been on a family vacation at Spooner’s Cove Beach in California where he fell and cut his knee. At first it just appeared to be a small cut and nothing more serious.

His mother Rachael told the Orange County Register that they thought the cut was “just a little owie, but that it was “one that kept seeping and never quite scabbed up.”

Paul visited the Doctor a number of times and even took a course of antibiotics to try and deal with the issue, which medical professionals thought was a staph infection.

Even though the child’s fever diminished the wound from the sea snail in his knee turned black over a period of about three weeks. By this time Rachael said her son’s knee was “the size of an orange.” He began limping and his knee was very hot to the touch.

Taking matters into her own hands the brave mum decided, against the doctors advice, to try and squeeze the wound. She told the newspaper, “I know the doctor didn’t want to drain this but this sucker needs to be drained!”

As she applied pressure to the knee a small black object, like a small pebble, popped out. They then saw the snail move and Rachael got a cup of water and put the snail in it.

Rachel recalled: “He moved. There’s a freakin’ little guy in there! Bubbles were coming up.” The only comment young Paul had about the sea snail in his knee was “It was crazy!”