Health

Feather pulled from baby's neck

By Michelle Castillo

December 13, 2012 / 12:25 PM EST / CBS News

Doctors shockingly found a 2-inch feather stuck in a lump on 7-month-old Mya Whittington's neck. "They pulled a feather out of my child," Mya's father, Aaron Whittington of Hutchinson, Kansas, said to CBS affiliate KWCH in Wichita, Kansas. "How crazy is that?"

AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, Travis Morisse

Mya's parents, Aaron and Emma Whittington of Hutchinson, Kansas, became worried when they saw a golf ball-sized lump on their daughter's neck and rushed her to the emergency room. They were sent home, but returned the next day when they noticed a small bump growing on the lump. After being sent to specialists in Wichita, Kansas, the tip of a feather began to emerge from near the child's jaw. A doctor pulled out the 2-inch object.

All that remains on Mya Whittington's neck now is a blue mark circling the spot where the lump used to be and a small red dot.

Doctors believe the Mya Whittington swallowed the feather months before, and it got stuck in her throat. Her body was trying to get rid of the feather by pushing it out. It just started to reject it and forced it out," father Aaron Whittington explained to KWCH.

Mya Whittington's parents took her to a specialist to drain the spot a few days after, according to the Hutchinson News. He said it was healing nicely and decided to leave it alone.

Doctors believe that Mya Whittington must have been in pain for quite some time, but her parents said she never cried until the nurses started poking her. They're just relieved the whole health scare is over. "Babies put stuff in their mouth, and we got it out," Emma said to KWCH laughing.

Michelle Castillo

Michelle Castillo is an associate editor for CBSNews.com.

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