An inquisitive youngster was lucky to be alive today- after swallowing this pair of SCISSORS.
Curtis Francis, 12, put the nail scissors into his mouth handle-first and they got stuck in his throat.
He was rushed to hospital where doctors took 90 minutes to remove them under general anaesthetic.
Miraculously, Curtis suffered only minor cuts and has now made a full recovery.
The youngster suffers from severe learning difficulties which have left him with no sense of danger, similar to a toddler.
His mum Karon Edwards, 50, first thought he had swallowed a pen lid but became worried when he began coughing up blood.
The mum-of-two, who lives in Bristol with Curtis and his elder brother Shane, 15, said: ”It was absolutely horrendous.
”I didn’t know you could swallow scissors so it came as a huge shock.
”I just thought had swallowed a pen lid but I knew something was wrong when he started coughing up blood and making panicked noises.
”By the time the ambulance arrived both me and my son were in tears. When we got to the hospital and we were told it was scissors I was so, so worried.
”Curtis is a multi-needs child and doesn’t have any sense of danger so I have to watch him all the time.
”Nothing like this has ever happened before. I still have trouble sleeping when I think about it.”
Curtis suffered a brain haemorrhage at birth which left him visually impaired with severe communication problems.
He cannot talk and attends the West of England School for visually impaired children in Exeter, Devon, for four days each week, while Karon cares for Shane, who has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Curtis swallowed the scissors on August 11 when Karon went to put the kettle on and briefly left him unattended at their three-bedroomed house.
He picked up the scissors from a high shelf and put them in his mouth.
When Karon returned he was making alarmed noises and she quickly dialled 999 when he began coughing up blood.
Curtis was rushed to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where x-rays revealed the scissors lodged in his oesophagus.
Luckily, they had not blocked his airway and he had swallowed them handle-first, rather than blade-first, so they had only slightly cut his throat.
Doctors said he was lucky to escape serious injury or lasting damage to his throat.
Karon added: ”It was the worst day of my life. It was such a nightmare. I am even more careful with him now but it is very difficult because he is getting older.”
Former nursery nurse Karon is fundraising for Look West, a Bristol charity which unites parents and carers of blind and visually impaired children.
She is also raising cash for Sense, a charity which owns Woodside Family Centre for children and adults with multi-sensory impairment and for the West of England School.
