A Tragic Accident: The Story of a 7-Year-Old Vietnamese Boy and the Pen Cap
Imagine sitting in class, listening to your teacher, when suddenly something unexpected happens—something that changes everything. That’s exactly what happened to a 7-year-old boy from Vietnam. While attending school, he accidentally swallowed the cap of a ballpoint pen, and the consequences were devastating.
It all began when the young boy, out of nowhere, swallowed the pen cap into his airway. Immediately, he started coughing, struggled to breathe, and complained of chest pain. The teacher, seeing how serious the situation was, rushed him to the school’s medical room to receive first aid.
But things took a turn for the worse. The boy’s breathing became even more labored, and he was quickly transferred to a nearby medical center.
However, things were far from over. On the way to the local hospital, the child’s breathing stopped completely. In a desperate attempt to save his life, doctors performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while they rushed him to the provincial hospital.
Despite their best efforts, the boy’s condition continued to worsen. By the time they reached the hospital, the boy was still not breathing on his own, and he required more CPR.
Dr. Nguyen Tan Hung, the Deputy Head of the Emergency and Anti-Poison Department at the National Children’s Hospital, shared the shocking condition the boy was in when he arrived. “The child was admitted to the hospital in a very critical condition.
He was given a balloon through the endotracheal tube, and we were continuously maintaining cardiac support drugs to stabilize his heart rate and blood pressure. He was in a deep coma and suffering from continuous seizures,” Dr. Hung said.
The Struggle for Life
The doctors worked tirelessly to save the child’s life. They used mechanical ventilation to help him breathe, and administered treatment to replace lost body fluids and maintain his blood pressure. The boy was sedated to prevent further stress on his already weakened body. They also took urgent steps to treat his brain swelling, a result of the lack of oxygen.
Despite all the treatments, the situation remained dire. Doctors performed an emergency endoscopy right at the boy’s bedside. This procedure was crucial to remove the foreign object from his airway. The object they removed was a black pen cap, about 0.5 x 0.8 cm in size, which had been blocking 70% of his right bronchus.
Dr. Vu Tung Lam, a specialist from the Respiratory Center at the National Children’s Hospital, shared more details about the boy’s condition. “The child’s airway mucosa on both sides was edematous, with a lot of mucus in the bronchi,” he said, describing how the child’s airway was severely swollen and blocked.
The Final Outcome
The doctors did everything they could to save the boy. They worked around the clock, trying various treatments, but the damage to his brain from the lack of oxygen was too severe. Despite their best efforts, after four days of treatment, the child passed away. The prolonged cardiac and respiratory arrest had caused irreversible brain damage, and sadly, the boy could not survive.
A Heartbreaking Reminder
This tragic story serves as a harsh reminder of how something as small as a pen cap can cause such serious consequences. It’s a warning for all of us to be more cautious, especially around children who may not fully understand the dangers of small objects. As one viewer put it, “This is a wake-up call. We never think something so simple could be so dangerous.”
The loss of this young boy is devastating, and our hearts go out to his family. While this story is tragic, it’s also a reminder of the hard work and dedication of doctors and medical staff, who tried everything in their power to save a life.
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