A 22-year-old man is fighting for his life in hospital after he swallowed an entire burger while having a meal with his friends ‘for a joke’.
The young man, who has not been named, was hospitalised at the intensive care unit of the G. Gennimatas Hospital in Koropi, Greece, on November 13.
He is reportedly still on a ventilator, and remains in critical condition as doctors struggle to stabilise him due to the significant damage his vital organs have already suffered.
One friend who was with him at the time said the man began panicking, before collapsing on the ground, telling local media: ‘He had something like a panic attack. He gets up and runs a bit further away, we thought he was going to spit it out and didn’t want to make a mess around others.
‘He didn’t do that. He makes a move to come back and then goes away again to spit it out. We thought, “Okay, now it’s coming.” That didn’t happen either’.
The friend added: ‘Then he starts coming back again, and the moment we realised something was wrong was when he was hitting his back against a column, probably trying to spit it out or something’.
He also denied that the man had stuffed the burger in his mouth for a challenge: ‘He just said, “Look.” If you want to call it something, call it a joke’.
The man stopped breathing for two full minutes, leading experts to voice their concerns over his health.
Michalis Giannakos, President of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDHN), said: ‘He can only be saved by a miracle, he is in a very critical condition.’
Giannakos also questioned how it was possible for a young person to put themselves through swallowing a whole burger without chewing.
He said: ‘Even if he received first aid, a doctor’s intervention is needed because when the brain is left without oxygen, irreparable damage is caused.’
Police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou said authorities would seek footage from the restaurant to determine whether anyone had encouraged him to attempt the dangerous act.
Former president of the Athens-Piraeus Hospital Doctors Association (EINAP), Matina Pagoni, said: ‘These are tragic circumstances. A 22-year-old young man who went to Koropi just to have some fun is now intubated and in extremely critical condition, with very serious problems affecting his brain, kidneys, and all his organs.’
