Şerife Ay is 92 years old and lives in Karadeniz Ereğli, Turkey. For years, she ate olives and dates without thinking twice — and without realizing that she was also swallowing the pits.
Her body kept them all. When she arrived at Bülent Ecevit University Hospital with vomiting and pain that would not let up, a CT scan revealed why: 28 date pits, 35 olive pits, and 5 calcified stones up to 6 centimeters long, hardened inside her stomach and intestine. One had already perforated the small intestine and was beginning to cause necrosis.
Dr. İlhan Taşdöven operated on her in an emergency: two hours of surgery to remove the damaged part and reconstruct the rest. If Şerife had stayed home enduring the pain, the surgeon said, her blood would have become poisoned. Today, after five days in intensive care, she is recovering.
