Who knew being a whistle-blower could be such a pain? Ask Wil Wheaton, who is finally able to breathe and sleep peacefully after having surgery to remove a whistle he swallowed 15 years ago.



In his youth, Wil Wheaton, experimented with putting toys in his mouth. This technique for exploring his environment eventually backfired when he swallowed a plastic whistle so completely that the doctor couldn’t find it anywhere inside his body using the technology that was at hand.



Ever since that day, Wheaton suffered from the physical and mental anguish of being an involuntary whistler. When he laid down the whistle obstructed his normal breathing and sleeping patterns. Worst of all, Wheaton would start whistling the minute he fell asleep.



After 15 years of this torture, he had another medical check-up and this time medical technology was able to detect the foreign object that had become the bane of his existence. A bronchoscopy test, which allows doctors to peek inside the airways that lead to the lungs, revealed the plastic whistle wrapped up in his body's tissue and lodged inside one of the airways.



The first test 15 years ago had been unable to locate the whistle because it had so perfectly become entangled and encapsulated within the airways. It took just a half hour surgery to extract the whistle that Wheaton had been blowing for most of his life.



Doctors kept Wheaton in the hospital for a few days where he wasn’t allowed to speak or strain his lungs in any way for a few weeks. Since then he has completely recovered. With the whistle out, Wheaton has been ecstatic. For once he doesn’t have to worry about blowing the whistle all night long and disturbing others while he sleeps.



It’s a fresh start and a new life for Wil Wheaton, thanks to the advancement of medical technology. As for the whistle, the root cause of this 15-year affliction, it is still functional, albeit highly degraded. The whistle manufacturer was interviewed by a local news organization, and remained ambivalent about whether to claim credit or hide from the media hype.



On the one hand, the longevity of the whistle and its ability to survive a non-stop 15-year attack by the human body’s immune system is a testament to the whistle’s indestructibility. But the whole incident also highlights the dangers of letting children play with whistles, and it’s never a good idea for a company which makes whistles to be branded as dangerous for children.



For the record, it’s illegal in many countries for children below the age of 10 to be allowed to blow whistles and balloons in order to avoid accidental choking. If your child does swallow something and is not experiencing any discomfort or pain, most doctors recommend that you simply wait for your child to poop it out.

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By Rufus Mordox