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TikToker Nealie Boschma went viral on Wednesday after getting a watermelon seed stuck in her throat for over a day. She said her followers made her feel "less alone" and validated in going to the emergency room to ease her anxieties.
Boschma, 26, also unknowingly tapped into a massive trend on TikTok where viewers are riveted by creators getting foreign objects lodged inside their bodies — from sewing needles to plant particles to earrings and Airpods.
On Sunday evening, Boschma told Insider she hungrily "inhaled" a watermelon from her local farmers market in Los Angeles, and went to sleep even though she felt something lodged in the back of her throat, hopeful it would pass.
"It was kind of up high," she said. "It just felt like something was tickling the back of my throat, and when I would try to cough, you could feel it."
The following evening, it was still there. Increasingly anxious, she decided to seek medical attention. Boschma, who recently quit her job working with horses to become a full-time influencer with 1.9 million TikTok followers, told Insider she was worried viewers would call her "dramatic," "stupid," or "uptight" for going to the emergency room to treat such an unconventional ailment.
But even though she doesn't have health insurance and emergency room visits are notoriously costly, she remembers thinking, "I'd rather just have peace of mind at this point and just take myself to the emergency room."
3.4 million viewers tuned in as she chronicled the visit. Once there, a nurse practitioner assured her the object would pass naturally, suggesting she gargle with Coca-Cola and hard-swallow white bread, though he also warned her it could be a few days.
But the assurance was all she needed. "I told him, 'As long as you're sitting in front of me and telling me I'm going to be OK, that's all I care about.'"
Later that night, sitting in her driveway and throwing back bread, the seed suddenly — and somewhat anticlimactically — cleared. Disbelief quickly gave way to gratitude. "I was just very relieved that it went down and I could go to bed peacefully," she said.
Commenters agreed they'd similarly sought medical treatment to ease their anxieties, and many also commiserated about getting food stuck in their throats.
"The health anxiety is so real," one commenter wrote. "I NEED a Dr to tell me I'm ok or I think I'm dying."
"Once I had chicken stuck in my throat," another shared. "The ER had me drink a few sips of 7 up and it went down. haha! that was a very expensive 7 up."
Boschma said she hasn't received her ER bill just yet, but plans to share it as soon as she does. And she ultimately isn't bothered by critics who accused her of ostensibly overpaying.
"My peace of mind is priceless," she said.
