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I was like 8 or 9 when I got my cartilage pierced. It was the thing and EVERYBODY was doing it. Most of my friends parent's wouldn't let them do it, buy my mom totally suprised me. It was sooo long ago that I really don't remember the experience. Except for the "pop" of the gun, and my ear feeling like it was on fire afterwards. It was a little sore for a while. But it healed quickly. About a year after I got it pierced, I noticed a large bump beside it. I thought nothing about it and it grew. My mom asked her friend (who was also a RN) what it could be. The lady told her that it was a calcium deposit, and it would usullay go away after a while. Well, I had waited long enough, and the thing got so big that it had completley covered the earring up. I decided that I had enough. That night I did my own kind of surgery on it with(sterilized) manicure scissors and a needle. I never saw the calcium deopsit again. Well, a few years has passed and I wanted "bigger." While planning a trip to Myrtle Beach I decided I was going to get my whole streched and an unusal type of earring in it- perhaps a barbell. I had had my piercing for while, so I thought it might be streched a little. When I first arrived at the Beach the first thing I did was look for a piercing studio. To my suprise Myrtle Beach no longer performs piercings or tattoos. I was totally devistated. But to my suprise, they had plenty of stores that sold Body Jewelry. I looked in those for a while, and decided I could take a 16 gauge. The mad who sold it to me acted very strange. It was no doubt to me that he was high. I asked for a 16 gauge and I thought that's what I got. After I purchased a very cute "16 gauge" curved barbell with rainbow colored balls, I just stuck it in my purse. While browsing body jewelry in another store the guy asked me what I had pierced. I told him about my cartilage piercing and my plan to strech it and he asked to see my jewelry. I showed it to him and he told me how "jipped" I had gotten. The earring was a 14 gauge! He told me that there was no way I could get it through my cartilage and that if I tried, I was gonna bleed because of the threads. I just ignored him and my friend and I went back to the hotel room to try. I purchased some Rubbing Alcohol, and some Neosporin at a Mini-Mart on the way home. As soon as I returned to the hotel I soaked the earring in alcohol and cleaned my hole. I tried to put it in and of course It wouldn't go. I finally got it over the threads. I pushed and pushed and I couldn't get the entire earring through. My friend advised me to stop that I was going to hurt myself, but I wouldn't listen. FINALLY I got it through. It was painful, and once again it felt like it was on fire. I just applied the Neosporin and went back out for the night. FINALLY the new, rather large hole has healed and I don't treat it any different. Sometimes people will ask me about it, but what I get most of the time is "Isn't that a belly-button ring?" Stupid people...
Submitted by: amanda_smith39@hotmail.com
Experience Added 08/21/00