- A quick swim at the beach, left Kitzia Mitre’s son, Pedro, with something moving in his ear.
- Worried her son might lose his hearing, Kitzia rushed Pedro to the medical clinic.
- Medical staff made quick work of removing the sea creature and Pedro was back in the water the next day.
Here Kitzia tells her story in her own words.
Mum, there is something in my ear,’ my son Pedro, then eight, complained clutching his left ear.
It was June 2025 and Pedro, his sister Mar, then five, and I were in Mexico for a week-long holiday.
We’d munched on tacos, had a dip in the hotel pool and then Pedro and I had headed for the beach for a dip.
Mar was happy to stay with our nanny.
‘It feels like something is moving.’
It was early afternoon and we’d swum for hours at the beach, so I figured he had some sea water trapped in his ear.
‘It feels like something is moving,’ he cried.
Peeking into his left ear, sure enough, I saw something moving… It was fast, just a flash of spindly legs before it vanished.
There was definitely something in his ear – and it seemed to be alive!
‘Let’s get you to a doctor,’ I said.
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Grabbing Pedro’s hand we left the water and I took off running towards the lifeguard tower yelling for help.
‘Please, I need a doctor, it’s an emergency,’ I cried.
The guard took off running towards the hotel, guiding me to the medical clinic. I scooped Pedro into my arms and ran after him.
‘Please, I need a doctor, it’s an emergency.’
Chest heaving as I climbed the two flights of stairs, I was worried about infection or damage to my boy’s ear drum.
I was so grateful when, 15 minutes later, Pedro and I were ushered in to see a doctor.
As the doctor used an otoscope to look in his ear, Pedro asked me to film the procedure. So I held my phone in one hand, and I clutched his hand in mine.
How did this happen? I wondered.
Just minutes ago, we were having a wonderful vacation and now I was worried my boy’s hearing could be damaged forever.
‘Are you going to kill it?’ Pedro asked, through tears.
My sweet caring boy worried about hurting the animal burying in his body.
‘Am I going to go deaf?’ Pedro cried, terrified.
‘No my love,’ I assured him. ‘Look me in the eyes… everything is going to be okay.’
Gently holding Pedro’s head still, the doctor used his free hand to clutch the tweezers as he tried to extract the foreign object.
It felt like a lifetime, but was really only about 30 seconds, before he pulled out the tiny creature.
Pedro breathed a sigh of relief as the pain subsided.
My mouth fell open – it was a live crab!
Missing one leg, the miniature crab, about 1cm big, was still alive.
As it scuttled along the towel, it was captured by the doctor in some gauze.
Pedro’s eyes grew wide, ‘There was a crab in there!’ he squeaked.
The doctor cleaned out his ear and prescribed ear drops with antibiotics for three days.
Thankfully there was no long-term damage. I’d been worried that Pedro’s hearing could be at stake.
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We found out later the crab was returned to the ocean, which cheered Pedro up.
The incident didn’t deter Pedro from swimming – my fearless boy was back in the ocean the next day!
With Pedro’s permission we shared the video online, keen to warn others about what he had been through.
The video, shared on my Instagram, has since been viewed more than 22 million times!
Pedro was very grateful for the kind comments we received, and we’re so thankful to the doctors who helped him.
Pedro, who turned nine in November, is totally fine and he still loves swimming at the beach with his sister Mar, now five.
You never know what can happen on holiday.
I’m just happy my sea-nsational boy is okay.
