- Three weeks ago, a TikToker felt something sharp lodge into her cheek while eating a salad with edible flowers.
- After the mysterious saga went viral, she captured the moment she finally expelled the seed from a salivary gland.
A TikToker who had gone viral earlier this month for documenting what she believed to be a plant particle "embedded" in her cheek has a satisfying and shocking update: After three weeks of discomfort — and a doctor's visit that came up inconclusive — a marigold seed was expelled out of her salivary gland.
Alexa Hendricks shared the update with her fans last Thursday, as commenters breathed a sigh of relief. She told Insider that the restaurant that served her the salad that may have been the culprit has also vowed to make things right.
Earlier this month, Hendricks captivated millions of viewers when she initially shared her story. The Kentucky-based influencer was eating a salad with edible flowers at Ruby's restaurant in New York City when she felt a sharp particle stab and disappear into her left cheek.
Subsequent trips to the dentist and oral surgeon were inconclusive, as one doctor believed her cheek was merely swollen due to trauma from the stab.
"I kind of started to believe the doctors and think that there wasn't really anything in there," Hendricks told Insider on Monday. "I went on vacation and the pain started going down a little bit."
But, last week, while driving to Topgolf and snacking on an apple, Hendricks suddenly felt the object again, and her jaw started to pinch and lock, she said. She started massaging the area with her fingers and urged her boyfriend to pull over and start filming.
@achendricks Replying to @autistic_musician ♬ original sound - alexa hendricks
"I had two fingers on my jaw and pushed it forward a little bit," she told Insider. "I was looking in the mirror to see, and as I opened my mouth, it popped out of that gland."
Hendricks captured the moment and posted it to TikTok, where it's gained 4.4 million views. (Her initial storytime and updates have also accrued millions of views). "It's finally over," she remembers thinking to herself.
Her concerned followers also shared that sentiment.
'You don't understand how satisfying this is for us'
Thousands of commenters told the creator that they, too, are relieved by the update, as if it also happened to them. "You don't understand how satisfying this is for us," one wrote. "I can finally rest now," another added.
The next day, however, Hendricks told fans she was still sore, wondering, "What if there's more still in there?"
Luckily, as of Monday, she told Insider she's feeling a lot better and assumes the pain was from "a little bit of trauma from it coming out." She's not experiencing much pain this week.
Hendricks said Ruby's has also reached out to her to try to atone for the incident. (She had initially called the restaurant when she was first investigating the matter, but she had not heard back until last week.)
@achendricks Replying to @shabshworley ♬ original sound - alexa hendricks
She said a manager was "very apologetic" and offered to cover her medical bills, which she's accepted. He also apparently offered her a meal on the house and is sending her some merch. Insider has reached out to Ruby's for comment.
Hendricks' saga is a part of a growing trend of corporal medical mysteries on TikTok. Last month, another woman on the app also went viral after sharing that she believed a sewing needle had been stuck in her foot. While she does not have a tangible conclusion for her mystery, she's also kept enthralled followers updated on her healing progress.