Woman's lung pierced by sewing needle in bizarre accident

A woman has revealed a bizarre accident which saw a sewing needle pierce her lung.

Aoife was speaking to RTÉ's Liveline this afternoon and recounted how the injury occurred.

She was sewing in bed and missed one sewing needle when she was tidying up.

Aoife's x-ray shows the needle sticking in her left lung.

It wasn't until the following night when she was going to bed that she lay on the needle by accident.

When she felt the pain, Aoife went to the mirror to see what it was and saw the needle sticking out of her back.

When I went to reach for it, I guess the muscles in my back just pushed it in and I could feel it in my back under the skin.

Although Aoife said that it didn't hurt, she "freaked out" and went to the hospital.

It took over three hours to get an x-ray as Aoife says they did not believe her.

Once it showed that there was, in fact, a needle in her back staff at the hospital apologised to her.

Aoife had to wait a week before she underwent surgery and was put on bed rest with her arm in a sling as there was concern that movement of her shoulder blade could push it in further.

They said in the following few days it could either fall out of your lung and move around your body or it could enter the lung fully and if it enters the lung fully, well we're just gonna have to keep it there. We won't have surgery.

"And if it moved around my body, I could have very serious complications."

Aoife, who was 24 at the time, questioned why it took so long before she could get surgery.

She was told the respiratory department was too busy.

They had initially done back surgery but it was not successful as the needle was further in than they had thought.

The hospital told Aoife that they had never seen anything like it.

To get the needle out they had to go through her ribs and collapse Aoife's lung.

Aoife has not done any sewing since it happened.

Listen to Aoife's full story below: