According to the boy’s mother, Skye, her 8-year-old son, Marley, reportedly coughed for five years until doctors finally pulled something out of his throat. The little boy has faced breathing problems and a persistent cough for the majority of his life. Doctors continually diagnosed him with various conditions, including asthma and allergies. Marley suffered from a very bad cough and was coughing so much and was struggling to breathe. His parents decided to take him to the hospital to get treatment for his cough as well as the blockage in his throat. The little boy was admitted to the intensive care unit at the hospital, where surgeons eventually figured out the true cause of his cough.

According to Marley’s mother, doctors revealed that the little boy had swallowed a tiny plastic toy that has been lodged in his throat. The little toy was a plastic flower that the boy apparently swallowed when he was a three-year-old toddler. However, no one realized he had swallowed the item until he went through tons of treatments for asthma and allergies. The surgeons removed the arts-and-craft piece, which was a plastic flower that had gotten lodged in the boy’s throat. Marley spoke to Sunrise on Tuesday morning from his hospital bed at the Children’s Hospital. He was set to undergo surgery to repair damage to his airway. The reporters on the case asked Marley what it was like to have a plastic toy stuck in his throat for five years. The boy, who did not speak very much during the news call, said that it felt like nothing to have the plastic toy wedged in his throat.

The boy’s mother also said that her son began having coughing fits while eating. He would cough so much, it would go on for hours upon hours, and said it was getting scary for the mother. Marley’s health was becoming a very serious problem due to the blockage in his throat. He also was struggling to keep up with his peers during weekend basketball and soccer games. He simply could not catch his breath when he got going. Although doctors initially diagnosed Marley with asthma, his mother doubted the diagnosis because he suffered from coughing after eating and drinking food, which is not typical of asthma. Skye was shocked that the toy was blocking her boy’s throat. However, she was glad that it was simply only a toy and not something more serious.

“I was absolutely shocked. But also really relieved, to be honest, because out of all these years, I finally had an answer,” she said. “My main concern at that point in time was that he was actually born with that condition. Because if he had been born with it, he would have had other issues. To know it was caused by a foreign body, it was a slight bit of relief for me. My message to other parents is that if you feel like there is something wrong, just keep pushing for it. I am so glad I did because it means I have him today.”