It ended up being the most expensive sandwich Chad Ettmueller ever ate.
And it’s given the 38-year-old Cumming man more attention than he ever wanted.
Ettmueller settled in at the local Which ‘Wich restaurant with his wife and three kids as a way to celebrate his son taking second place in a local talent show.
Starving because he hadn’t eaten all day, Ettmueller ordered his favorite sandwich – one called the “Wicked,” which has five meats and three cheeses.
But, again, Ettmueller said he was hungry, so he ordered it with twice the meat.
“It was just more than I could handle, clearly,” Ettmueller said.
Clearly.
He opened his mouth and couldn’t even take a bite – Ettmueller’s jaw had dropped opened and then locked up on him.
His children started laughing – they thought he was just joking around, which Ettmueller said would have made sense.
Except that he was in pain and started to feel a little silly.
Ettmueller said he excused himself and walked outside and started punching himself in the jaw in attempts to get it to unlock and close.
“I’m sure people walking around were wondering, ‘What is going on with this guy punching himself?’” Ettmueller said.
Ettmueller’s family realized he wasn’t kidding and took him to urgent care. The doctors there laughed at him, so he went to the ER.
Seven hours later, Ettmueller was still there, jaw hanging open. He then went to Emory University Hospital, and doctors there were able to surgically put it back into place.
The exact problem? Double dislocation of the mandible – something that Ettmueller’s surgeon said happened maybe 30 times a year.
And it’s never as spontaneous as this.
“It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of in my life, but it’s kind of taken on a life of its own,” Ettmueller told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
OK, well, how did anybody find out about it in the first place?
“My wife, in all honesty, was just about slap happy after about 36 hours, and she sent an e-mail to the Which ‘Wich restaurant and said, ‘You guys won’t believe what happened … ‘”
Ettmueller said the restaurant was “petrified” that a lawsuit was coming. The Dallas-based company’s founder even called him to check in.
“This is genetics. It’s nothing they did wrong. This was a freak accident,” Ettmueller said.
So instead, the corporate offices are trying to have a little fun with it.
First, they asked Ettmueller to help create a video reenacting the incident.
Now, they want to rename the sandwich.
The choices are “Lock-jaw,” “Double Dislocator” or “Jaw Wrecker.”
“I didn’t anticipate it getting to this point,” Ettmueller said. “But if you can’t laugh at yourself.”
Now, however, Ettmueller said he just wants to be able to eat a sandwich and move on.
About the Author
