A man who thought he’d simply been bitten by a mosquito or developed an ingrown hair has revealed the surprising truth about what was really lurking beneath his skin.
Miles, 30, from Spokane, Washington, told Newsweek he first noticed a “little bump” on his right ankle a few months ago. “I didn’t think much of it,” he said, until his wife pointed out that it had turned gray—immediately sparking concern.
She recently shared the ordeal on Instagram Threads (@micks.art.goods), where her post racked up 23,000 views.
An extract reads: “I insisted he needed to figure out what it was because it almost looked like a tick had burrowed in or something so I went and found some tweezers and a needle. We went to work on his ankle for 20 minutes but could not get the thing out. Finally, we gave up and he booked an appointment with Insta Care.”
Miles told Newsweek: “It wasn’t painful at all and it didn’t bug my leg unless I put pressure directly on the bump.”
At the urgent care unit, the area was numbed and a small incision was made. Around 20 minutes later, Miles said nurses “dug out” what they believe was a small rock or seed.
“It was almost certainly from biking,” he told Newsweek. “Embarrassingly, thanks to the extra weight on the back of the bike, I lost my balance while getting back on after a stop.
“I scraped my leg and it bled a little, but it was the kind of scrape you ignore and that doesn’t hurt. I’m guessing the seed or rock slipped right under my skin and healed quickly over the top.
“The nurses had a good laugh about it. They had seen bikers in before with road rash and rocks in their wounds, but they had never seen a single little object under healed skin like that. They let me take it home.”
His wife concludes the post: “He pulls into the driveway and shows me one of those little plastic medical cups with a literal rock inside it (surprisingly round and large) and a single stitch in his ankle. He has no memory of this rock finding a home in his leg. I am disgusted, and intrigued.”
One user shared: “I got a rock stuck in the palm of my hand when I slipped on a wet surface and my hand went down into the gravel. Tried to get it out myself but no go. Went to the ER and they x-rayed and the doctor loaded me up with lidocaine then went to work. It was bigger than I thought. Went home with two stitches.”
“I would put it in a jar and make everyone that enters house see my story of rock,” said another user.
