Christmas has always been the best time of the year for people of all ages. That was also the case for Mr. Jones until Christmas almost cost him his life. Feeling his health slowly deteriorate, Mr. Jones decided to seek medical help in order to understand where all of this was coming from.
When the doctor told him to throw out his wife’s Christmas present, Mr. Jones was left in complete and utter shock.
Despite being 78, Mr. Jones and his wife were known to be a healthy and active couple. The two worked out on a daily basis and made sure they took all the supplements their body needed.
After their Christmas dinner with their children and grandchildren, Mr. Jones started experiencing symptoms that started by being subtle and insignificant and elevated to ones that left him bedridden.
Mr. Jones was quick to call his doctor when he felt shortness of breath, knowing that this was something out of the ordinary for him. After doing several check-ups and tests, his doctor advised him to stay away from any possible allergens, including animals, smoke, and dust.
Mrs. Jones eliminated anything that could possibly be causing this bodily response, but the way her husband reacted made her even more concerned.
Rather than improving, Mr. Jones started experiencing heavy coughs that would not go away. Feeling desperate, Mrs. Jones reached out to her children for help. Her son then recommended taking an appointment with one of his good friends that specialized in pulmonology.
Listening to their son’s advice, Mr. Jones booked an appointment for the next day with fingers crossed.
After the visit to Dr. Henry, Mr. Jones started with a course of medication that seemed to be making a difference. Feeling grateful, the couple invited him over for dinner at their home. Dr. Henry gracefully accepted the offer and visited the two on a Friday night.
Little did he know that this visit will be the answer to all the questions the couple had.
Henry and Mr. Jones chatted while they helped Mrs. Jones set the table. The three were having a great time discussing everything from the weather to their favorite meal. Half an hour into the dinner, the topic of Mr. Jones’s health was brought up.
One question floated around the dinner table, making the three feel helpless.
The three had one question that they could not quite answer. The reason behind Mr. Jones’s health issue was still unknown. Nothing made sense as they tried their best to understand where it all started, trying to draw a connection of some sort to make it all click.
Feeling like detectives, the three started retracing Mr. Jones’s steps.
The only thing that they were sure of was that the symptoms started after Christmas. Keeping that in mind, they inspected every single angle they could until they reached the category of presents.
One by one they started investigating the presents that Mr. and Mrs. Jones received until they reached one specific present.
Henry made sure to pick apart every present until they reached the present Ms. Jones had gifted her husband. When explaining the present that she had made by hand for her husband, a light bulb went on in Henry’s head.
He then instantly directed Mrs. Jones to point him in the direction of the present.
Holding the sculpture Mrs. Jones made for her husband for Christmas, he focused on the little latch, opening it up to find remains of what looked like a natural ingredient. He directly asked her what the remains were.
The answer she gave caused Henry to blurt four words to the concerned couple “Throw it away now”.
Shocked by what she heard, Mrs. Jones asked for an explanation. Henry went on to explain that blue mussel, especially when ground could cause heavy-metal poisoning after being exposed to it for a long time.
The two listened as Henry explained the endless effects of the exposure to ground blue mussel.
The couple was quick to throw the gift away, learning about artists that have faced major health problems from mussel shells, for they act as the environment’s filter feeders. They accumulate toxins that are found in their surroundings.
As a result of feeling really worried, Mrs. Jones ended up taking extreme measures.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Jones took several tests, making sure that the remanence of this shell has left their body and did not cause any further health complications. Thankfully, the two were not exposed to it long enough to cause irreversible damage.
Feeling disappointed by her finding, Mrs. Jones took it upon herself to take action.
Mrs. Jones took every step possible to raise awareness of the possible risk factors of the naturally found ingredients that people use in their day-to-day life. The more she learned, the more she shared, she wanted to make sure that no one would have to go through the health scare that they went through.
Mrs. Jones found a lot of risks found within art tools.
Mrs. Jones realized that stone and wood carvers, glassworkers, and many other art forms come with several health risks. Her story comes as a lesson to teach everyone to always do their research before using things that they don’t know much about.
As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.