20–30 foreign body cases in 12 years
Lucy the ER nurse estimated she has seen between 20 and 30 rectal foreign body cases in her 12-year career.
Snapshot · Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Foreign Object in Butt III
Explore episode
Jun 26, 2026
Where this was said
Lucy the ER Nurse: The 80-Year-Old Widower and the Wooden Banister
At 34:03 · chapter starts 33:20
Lucy sets the scene: a big-city trauma center in 2021, an EMS call for an 80-year-old with stable vitals and abdominal pain — a thoroughly routine presentation. The medic pulls Lucy aside to share two things: the patient had confessed en route that he'd inserted something rectally two days earlier, and his wife had recently died. Lucy immediately reads the room and focuses on compassion over curiosity, assuring the stoic elderly man that they'll get it out. He declines pain medication. The ER doctor finds the object on the first attempt but can't get a grip due to suction and slipperiness; the patient simply says 'just do it' as the doctor attempts a second time, going fully elbow-deep. [1] — Lucy "An 80-year-old man whose wife had recently died waited two days before calling an ambulance about a large wooden banister piece in his rect…" 34:25 Moments later there's a pop, and the doctor is holding what Lucy describes as a 6-by-8-inch piece of wooden banister, roughly bishop-shaped, covered in blood and stool, and not perfectly sanded. The doctor bags it and walks out. An hour later, security calls: the nephew is here. Lucy races to the room, positions herself between the door and the specimen bag, tells the nephew she has 'absolutely no idea' what's causing the pain, and slides out while dropping the evidence in the trash. [2] — Lucy "After the extraction, Lucy left the wooden object in a specimen bag on the counter. Minutes later, the patient's unsuspecting nephew arrive…" 41:50 George's dignity survives intact.
The 80-Year-Old Widower and the Wooden Banister
An 80-year-old man whose wife had recently died waited two days before calling an ambulance about a large wooden banister piece in his rectum. The ER doctor went elbow-deep to remove it. The object was unsanded and bloodied, roughly the shape of a chess bishop — but enormous.
Foreign object cases come 'in batches'
Lucy noted that rectal foreign body cases often arrive in clusters, with multiple presenting in close succession for reasons she cannot explain.
2 days before seeking help
The 80-year-old widower waited approximately two days after inserting the object before calling 911, likely hoping it would resolve on its own.
Doctor elbow-deep during removal
The ER doctor had to go fully elbow-deep to retrieve the wooden banister piece from the 80-year-old patient after failing on the first attempt.
6"×8" wooden banister piece
Lucy's 80-year-old patient had inserted a piece of wooden banister described as 6 inches wide and 8 inches long into his rectum.
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