More Popsicles, please: Your tonsils can grow back

In the summer of 1983, Katy Golden’s mom stocked their kitchen with popsicles and bubble gum. Golden was 5 years old and about to have her tonsils removed to help with some ear issues she’d been struggling with since she was an infant.

In the summer of 1983, Katy Golden’s mom had stocked their kitchen in the suburbs of Detroit with Popsicles and bubble gum. Golden was 5 years old and about to have her tonsils removed to help with some ear issues she’d had since she was an infant. The procedure seemed to go well; her recovery was similar to that of many other kids she knew who also had their tonsils removed, and she was back to her talkative self in what felt like no time. But just a few weeks ago, Golden stopped at a supermarket to pick up two packs of grape bubble gum because she was about to have her tonsils removed – again. They had grown back over the past 40 years – the left tonsil nearly to full size – and were causing trouble once more. Golden has had dozens of surgeries throughout her life to address inner ear issues and is no stranger to sore throats, but it had been years since she had seen an otolaryngologist, also known as an ear, nose and throat or ENT physician. “I knew that there was some sort of little flap or something that’s been there for years, but I didn’t realize what it was. I just thought, ‘I’m not a doctor myself. I don’t know much about mouth structure. That’s just how it is,’” Golden said. “But if I would get sick and have a sore throat or something, then of course the back of my mouth would be super inflamed, and it was hard to swallow. And I thought, ‘Well, obviously it’s not my tonsils. I have those out. I’ve just got a sore throat.’”