There are many things to enjoy about summer but perhaps the thing that most of us appreciate more than any other is a good cookout. When the weather is warm and sunny, there is nothing quite like getting together with family and friends, firing up the grill and doing some burgers. It offers us a delicious treat and an opportunity to visit with others and have a great time. Unfortunately, there are times when things don’t go as well as what we had planned.
That is what happened to the Fiore family when they were enjoying a beautiful summer night with an outdoor barbecue. Burgers were on the menu but when their six-year-old son, Anthony, took a bite out of his burger, he became ill immediately. His family didn’t know what to do, so they grabbed him and took him to the hospital as quickly as possible.
“It felt like a needle,” the boy told Canadian Broadcasting.
When they arrived at the hospital, the doctors discovered a rather startling issue. It appears that Anthony had swallowed a tiny bristle from a wire brush used to clean the barbecue grill.
“We knew something was wrong and he was in extreme pain because he was crying. From the time we had dinner to the time we had surgery, it was about 12 hours later, because our journey started at the local hospital, and then we were transported to SickKids,” Anthony’s mother, Nadia said.
There isn’t a specific way for these pieces of wire to be removed from the throat when they are swallowed. Fortunately, surgeons at SickKids were able to dislodge it without too much problem.
There was another issue that could’ve happened, and that was the possibility of an infection occurring at the site where the bristle entered into his throat. It seems as if this isn’t the first time that doctors have experienced such a problem. This is an issue that is more than painful, it could be fatal!
“It makes a hole in the intestine and that could be life-threatening,” said Dr. Aziz Benbrahim. “We had a patient who had it in there for 2 weeks and he had severe complications and bigger surgery.”
According to the vice president of development at Barbecue World, Duff Dixon, the brushes should be replaced as soon as they get a matted appearance. You should also avoid any brushes with a wooden or plastic backing. Metal backings are much more secure.
“These stories have been happening as long as the brushes have been around,” said Dixon.
You can even avoid the situation altogether by using alternative cleaning methods. Some people light their grill and burn it with the lid closed to loosen the burnt on food from the grill. A ruffled up piece of aluminum foil can then be used to scrub the grill safely. Just don’t burn yourself!
Nadia decided to go public with the problem so that other families could be warned about the potential issue.
“I hope to have these brushes removed from the shelves, have them banned,” she said.
Nadia says that nothing has been barbecued at their household since it occurred. Anthony is frightened to eat anything that comes off of the grill.
You can learn more about it in this video: