A MAN ruptured his food pipe and is suffering lifelong heart and lung problems after eating what he thought were boneless chicken wings. Michael Berkheimer, 65, was at a restaurant with his wife Melissa and friends when he felt something lodged in his throat. Initially, he assumed it was a piece of meat that had "gone down the wrong way".
But days later, Michael, who had eaten there many times before, started to feel feverish. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors discovered a piece of wishbone measuring between 1.3in and 2in had punctured his oesophagus, or food pipe, according to court documents.
This meant everything he ate after that point fell directly into his chest cavity, causing a buildup of bacteria and a nasty infection. Michael then suffered a heart attack and a collapsed lung, and was twice put into a coma. He remained in hospital for two months, and reportedly continues to battle lasting heart and lung damage, as well as psychological trauma.
Michael told Fox19 : "I had bacteria buildup in my chest cavity the size of a softball laying on my heart. It just traumatised me. "It’s taken joy from my family.
Thank God for the Lord and my wife or else I wouldn’t have been here." Most read in Health Speaking to Cincinnati.com , the former hockey player and coach, who had ordered his usual of boneless chicken wings tossed in Parmesan garlic sauce, added: "I'll never be the same again.
" Michael, who played the sport for more than 50 years and also worked as a manag.