TikToker Believes a Sewing Needle Has Been Stuck in Her Body for a Decade and 10 Million Viewers Want Answers

Rebecca Hiller wasn't trying to go viral when she shared on social media how she thought she had a sewing needle stuck in her foot for a decade. She posted about it because she thought it was strange, but the amount of curious viewers grew rapidly and her story made headlines. The 23-year-old posted her initial TikTok about her foot last month and shared a quick clip of her explaining what happened. "Ten years ago, I stepped on a sewing needle in my basement and only got half of it out," she said in the clip, which has been viewed 6 million times on TikTok and 4 million times on Instagram. "But lately, half of my foot has been going numb. And I've been getting this weird pain, and I think that the other half of the needle that I believe remains in my foot is being rejected." Hiller documented her scary situation in real time and finally has an update. Read on to learn more. 

Her First Health Update Was "Unfulfilling"

After the initial TikTok, Hiller followed up with an update and said, "I fear you will find this update as unfulfilling as I did. It looks like there may not be a needle in my foot, but there's something in it. There is a mass of some sort.  "Did the needle create a calcified rock around it?" She went on to double down on her original claim and said, "I'm convinced there's a needle in my foot. I've been convinced for the last 10 years."

People Demanded Updates

Hiller was referred to a podiatrist the following week, but said that people who were invested in her story couldn't wait that long. She shared that some viewers insisted on answers immediately and were "angry" with her for not providing quicker updates. "Tell us what happened to the foot ASAP," one person wrote on a video where Hiller is preparing the night before for the doctor. Even though Hiller was very clear in the video that her podiatrist appointment was the next day, commenters still demanded answers. "Someone let me know when we get an update," one user wrote. Another person chimed in, "soo ?"

The Diagnosis and Treatment

Shortly after her doctor's appointment, she received a diagnosis. "From the tests and ultrasound, we found that there's lots of scar tissue in my foot from where the needle was, which has caused not one, but two neuromas to form in my foot. The scar tissue has created a thick tissue around my nerves, which is what has caused my toes to go numb. I feel like I played myself because thinking I had a needle in my foot has led to me needing eight rounds of injection therapy in my foot. I had my first round the other day, which included five needles, two on the top of my foot between the toes." She continued explaining that there was another needle, "right in the middle of the toes and then two on the bottom."

Hiller Has a Theory About What Happened to the Sewing Needle

In the TikTok where she shared her diagnosis, Hiller explained her theory about what happened to the needle. "As for the sewing needle, either I got all of it out when I was 13, or it migrated somewhere else. I don't know if I'm going to like get a full body x-ray, or if I should just choose to believe that I am needle free." She also said that if the current treatment plan she's on doesn't work, "the next step is surgery to cut out the scar tissue."

Why Hiller Wasn't Totally Excited About Going Viral

While many people dream of creating content that millions of people see, Hiller wasn't one of them. She told Insider, "People felt like they deserved answers from me when I'm just kind of a random girl who thought I was sharing a silly thing that happened." She added that she was kind of excited until she read the comments. "Once I started to get the comments demanding answers, I started to get very anxious because I felt like, 'Oh, these people are mad at me and I'm doing something wrong.' In addition, people also shamed her and made her feel bad for waiting 10 years to address the problem. In her most recent clip, she shows exactly what her treatment entails and told Insider she still plans to update people about her situation.