Curious about the costs associated with removing a doll shoe from a child’s nasal passage? Some parents recently uncovered this reality in an unexpected way.
“I believe she has something lodged in her nose.” This is a phrase no parent wishes to utter, particularly on the rare occasion that they manage to arrange for a night out. Such was the scenario for Tim and Sarah Miller from Denver, who were preparing for a well-deserved evening together when they noticed their 3-year-old daughter, Lily, displaying signs of distress.
According to a report by NPR, Lily entered their bedroom coughing and appearing visibly uncomfortable. It didn’t take long for Tim to spot the issue: a pair of diminutive pink shoes from a Polly Pocket set, one stuck in each nostril. In the whimsical logic of small children, Lily had managed to insert one slipper into each of her nostrils.
In a classic parental response, the Millers took it upon themselves to become amateur surgeons in an effort to resolve their daughter’s curious predicament. Armed with tweezers, they attempted to extract the plastic footwear. Tim succeeded in removing one shoe, but the second one remained stubbornly lodged out of reach.
At this juncture, the narrative either resonates with your own parenting experiences or adds another worry to your list of potential disasters. Either way, it serves as a cautionary tale, particularly for your finances. After exhausting their DIY efforts, the Millers decided it was time for professional help.
Their journey began at a nearby urgent care facility, where the attending physicians were unable to retrieve the shoe. The next stop was the emergency room, where, using a long set of forceps, a doctor efficiently removed the remaining shoe, noting it was a welcome change from the usual candy wrappers and other oddities he often extracted.
The evening ended on a positive note—Lily was back to her normal self, and the Millers finally made it to their planned outing. “It turned out to be quite an eventful night,” Sarah shared with NPR. “My husband returned, we attended the show, and our daughter is perfectly fine.”
However, the financial aftermath was far less pleasing. The couple received a bill from the local hospital, Dignity Health, totaling $1,732, along with a physician’s fee of $926.98, culminating in an astonishing $2,658.98 for the extraction of a doll shoe.
In hindsight, the Millers could have taken a short vacation or purchased a reliable used vehicle for the same cost—perhaps even indulged in some designer shoes for Sarah. Interestingly, reports submitted to Medicare indicate that the average expense for removing a foreign object from the nasal cavity is less than $50. This left the Millers questioning the rationale behind such exorbitant charges.
“It’s not that we can’t manage the payment if necessary,” Sarah remarked. “It’s just baffling that this procedure costs so much. Someone should evaluate why we’re being billed nearly $3,000 for removing a Barbie shoe from our child’s nose.”
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In summary, the Millers faced a steep hospital bill after an incident where their daughter lodged a doll shoe in her nose. While they managed to resolve the situation in the ER, the financial implications left them questioning the healthcare system’s pricing structures.
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