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Teen nearly dies after ham sandwich rips his throat

A teenager was left fighting for his life after his esophagus was torn - by a ham and cheese sandwich.

Alec Hebblethwaite, 14, spent 106 days in hospital and was diagnosed with chronic immune system disease eosinophilic esophagitis.

His mum Kasey Hunter, 35, first noticed something was out of the ordinary last April when he ate a cracker during soccer practice and threw up blood.

Alec was left fighting for life after eating a ham sandwich in May. Photo: SWNS/Mega
Alec was left fighting for life after eating a ham sandwich in May. Photo: SWNS/Mega


She took him to the ER where medics said he had scratched his esophagus and told him to stick to soft foods to give it chance to heal.

The following month, things escalated when Kasey gave Alec a snack between soccer games to grab a snack - and was shocked when he choked on a ham and cheese sandwich.

Alec was admitted to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where doctors tried to perform surgery to repair his esophagus, but were forced to delay it after opening his chest to find he was suffering from an infection.

Alec was transferred to Children's Mercy in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The Missouri teen was forced to undergo emergency surgery, with doctors saying he was hours away from death. Photo: SWNS/Mega
The Missouri teen was forced to undergo emergency surgery, with doctors saying he was hours away from death. Photo: SWNS/Mega

He had a chest tube and drain inserted to help get rid of the infection and later had surgery to remove his gallbladder, which was also infected.

"They said that if we had waited 12 more hours before taking him to the hospital he would have died,” said mum-of-three Kasey.

"We thought it was just chest pain he was complaining about but the doctors did a swallow study and found out there was a hole.

The soccer fan was rushed to hospital after a pre-game snack. Photo: SWNS/Mega
The soccer fan was rushed to hospital after a pre-game snack. Photo: SWNS/Mega

"The doctors said they had never seen it in a kid before. It was very scary.

"To stand there and look at your kid and there is nothing you can do for them... You just want to take it all away but you're not able to.

"I had no idea that this could happen. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that crackers and sandwiches would be able to do this."

Alec ended up spending the summer in intensive care, fighting deadly sepsis and having several operations where doctors warned his mum he might not make it.

The teen spent months in hospital recovering from his emergency surgery. Photo: SWNS/Mega
The teen spent months in hospital recovering from his emergency surgery. Photo: SWNS/Mega

Finally in November - seven months after Alec's first trip to the ER - doctors determined that his extreme reaction had been caused by eosinophilic esophagitis.

The rare condition causes white blood cells to build up in the lining of the tube connecting the mouth and stomach, which can lead to tearing and choking.

Now Alec has to stick to soft foods and has cut out rough foods and bread - which is believed to have triggered his previous flare-up - because it can expand and cause irritation.

"At first I didn't know anything was wrong at all - I just felt like I got a bit of the sandwich stuck in my throat,” said Alex.

"But after that I found it really hard to get up and my throat hurt. I was in a lot of pain.

"I don't remember most of my time in hospital but there was a time when I wasn't able to walk, which was very scary.

"I knew things like this could happen but I didn't ever think it would happen to me."

Alec still goes to the hospital every few weeks for dilation, where a balloon is inserted into the esophagus to stretch it, to make it easier for him to breathe.

The family have set up a [https://www.youcaring.com/alechebblethwaite-830977 |YouCaring] site to help with medical and travel costs.

- Addtional reporting by SWNS/Mega

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