A young 18 year old athlete almost died after he accidentally swallowed a rather commonplace item: a toothpick.

The apparently mundane toothpick wreaked mayhem within the 18-year-old man’s body, where the item pierced the wall of his lower intestine and poked into an artery, according to a new report of the case, revealed Wednesday (Jan. 30) in the New England Journal of medicine.

The injuries would eventually lead to severe hemorrhage together with a bloodstream infection. However, the man did not remember swallowing the toothpick, and it took weeks and visits to 3 hospitals before doctors discovered what was behind his mysterious symptoms (read full report).