Tongue works just fine now for ‘Ratchet Jaw’
Laura Rupp’s fascination with the human body led her into the field of nursing.
“I was 6 years old, and I wanted to brush my teeth. So I climbed on the toilet bowl to the sink to try to get the toothpaste. When I reached out, I slipped. I guess I had my tongue out, kind of like Michael Jordan when he was playing basketball. So when my chin hit the edge of the sink, I bit my tongue off. I literally bit it in half, but it stayed in my mouth.
“There was a lot of blood, but I couldn’t talk. So I went out to the porch and stood there in front of my uncle, who was visiting from New York. All he could speak was Italian, so he went berserk and started yelling for my mother in Italian. She came running and immediately took my tongue and stuck it in a towel full of ice.
“They didn’t have 911 back then. You had to drive yourself to the hospital, but my dad was at work with our only car. So my mom took me to the lady next door named Betty. She was going to borrow Betty’s car or ask her to drive us there. But when Betty opened the door, she took one look at me and just fainted to the ground. My mother had to revive Betty and drive us both to the hospital.
“I remember being strapped down, kind of like Frankenstein. Then the doctor actually sewed my tongue back together with like a needle and thread. I could feel him poking the needle through my tongue and pulling the thread through. I tried to scream, but I really couldn’t because his hands were in my mouth.
“After he stitched it on, it seemed like all I could eat for weeks was pudding. I remember my mom telling me I wouldn’t be able to talk for a while or taste food. So it fascinated me, like, your tongue is responsible for that? It amazed me that you could even sew it back together like they did.
“After the doctor took the stitches out, everything was fine. My tongue works perfectly, as far as eating, tasting and everything. But my dad always jokes, ‘Why did the doctor have to sew that thing back on?’ He says that because I haven’t stopped talking yet. He calls me Ratchet Jaw.”
— Laura Rupp
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