Sea turtle becomes first-ever animal patient to get CT scan at Alabama hospital

In today’s dose of rare events all over the world, an endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle got a CT scan done at the Decatur Morgan Hospital in Alabama, US. Well, the turtle after that, became the first-ever animal patient at the hospital. Yes, that happened. A few pictures of the same were shared by the Cook Museum of Natural History. Notably, the turtle named Kale has been living there since 2020.

Why did Kale had to get a CT scan done? So, the turtle was thriving in the sea off the coast of Virginia when he ended up on the wrong end of a fishing hook in 2019, according to Miami Herald. Kale suffered an injury to his shell that made him more prone to infections.

The hook was nearly impossible to pull out without performing surgery. That’s when Kale made his way to the Cook Museum of Natural Science in Decatur, Alabama, in 2020. “Several invasive surgeries were required. His wound did not fully heal and created scar tissue and a fistula, a hollow space where food and debris can get trapped and cause infections,” the museum wrote on its website.

Due to his ongoing medical issues, Kale needed regular veterinarian visits and treatment. So, a CT scan was done to see the level of improvement of Kale’s deep infections in his shell.