The doctors in Brewster surgically removed the one-and-a-half inch sprout that had caused Ron Sveden's left lung to collapse.

Sveden was taken to the hospital on May 31 when his condition worsened. X-ray exams showed his collapsed lung prompting doctors to conduct tests to see if cancer was the cause. But after two weeks of tests, no tumor was found. Instead, the pea plant was discovered.

Doctors suspected that the pea went down the wrong pipe and got stuck in the lung. There it began to grow.

After the surgery, Sveden ate peas in his first meal at the hospital.

Friends also sent him pea seeds and canned peas just for the fun of it while he is recovering from home.