Pea plant grows inside man's lung

bodhi

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10945050

A Massachusetts man who was rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung came home with an unusual diagnosis: a pea plant was growing in his lung.

Ron Sveden had been battling emphysema for months when his condition deteriorated.

He was steeling himself for a cancer diagnosis when X-rays revealed the growth in his lung.

Doctors believe that Mr Sveden ate the pea at some point, but it "went down the wrong way" and sprouted.

"One of the first meals I had in the hospital after the surgery had peas for the vegetable. I laughed to myself and ate them," Mr Sveden told a local Boston TV reporter.

Mr Sveden said the plant was about half an inch (1.25cm) in size.

"Whether this would have gone full-term and I'd be working for the Jolly Green Giant, I don't know. I think the thing that finally dawned on me is that it wasn't the cancer," Mr Sveden said.

He is currently recovering at home with his wife Nancy, who joked that God must have a sense of humour.
 
Scene 112: Hospital waiting room.

Characters: Ron's surgeon exiting the theatre with a distraught, hopeless look on his face, and
Ron's family nervously awaiting news of the operation's status, fiddling about in the waiting room.

Play: Enter the surgeon: "Dear family, I am so sorry to tell you all, we did everything we could...
but we couldn't save the plant.
Your husband is fine though."

:p
 
How someone manages to inhale a whole pea is beyond me. Do they have the table manners of a large dog?

The interior of the lungs is a good place for a seed to germinate, I guess. Lots of moisture, lots of oxygen and CO2 flowing freely, nice mushy aveoli to take root in, you can suck nutrients straight from your host's blood stream...

It gives me an ache in my chest just thinking about it. At least there aren't any pain receptors in lung tissue.
 
How someone manages to inhale a whole pea is beyond me. Do they have the table manners of a large dog?

The interior of the lungs is a good place for a seed to germinate, I guess. Lots of moisture, lots of oxygen and CO2 flowing freely, nice mushy aveoli to take root in, you can suck nutrients straight from your host's blood stream...

It gives me an ache in my chest just thinking about it. At least there aren't any pain receptors in lung tissue.

Makes me wonder... if something as large as a pea can get in there in germinate... what about fungal spores? And considering how many of the things are toxic... that would be a hypochondriac's nightmare.
 
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