Sea Snail In Knee: 4-Year-Old Paul Franklin’s Parents Say A Snail Popped Out Of His Swollen Knee [VIDEO]
Four-year-old Paul Franklin’s pet snail, named “Turbo,” came from the most unlikely of places – it hatched in his own knee.
According to Franklin’s mother, Rachael, the boy fell and scraped his knee while on vacation. She says it was just a small scrape, but it never quite healed correctly. When Franklin’s knee began to swell, his mother brought him to a doctor who said that he had a staph infection. The doctor prescribed him antibiotics that proved to be ineffective.
“[The doctor] was more freaked out than even I am,” said Rachael. “It was no laughing matter, he told us. The infection could work its way into Paul’s bloodstream and cause all kinds of problems. Thinking it might be the superbug, he washed his hands, and made us wash ours right on the spot.”
The doctor advised Franklin’s mother not to drain the knee, but when it began turning black she decided she had no other choice. When she applied pressure to the wound, a tiny snail came shooting out.
Franklin’s father, Ken, thinks his son probably thought he fell on a rock but really fell on a snail nest. He believes the snail egg hatched in his son’s knee. Now, the boy’s parents are searching for a marine biologist who can confirm that snails can grow inside of a human.
