Man discovers nail in head - six days later

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Link

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) - A dentist found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a 10-centimetre nail the construction worker had unknowingly embedded in his skull six days earlier.



A nail gun backfired on Lawler, 23, on Jan. 6 while working in Breckenridge, a ski resort town in the central Colorado mountains. The tool sent a nail into a piece of wood nearby, but Lawler didn't realize a second nail had shot through his mouth, said his sister, Lisa Metcalse.

Following the accident, Lawler had what he thought was a minor toothache and blurry vision. On Wednesday, after painkillers and ice didn't ease the pain, he went to a dental office where his wife, Katerina, works.

"We all are friends, so I thought the (dentists) were joking . . . then the doctor came out and said 'There's really a nail,' " Katerina Lawler said. "Patrick just broke down. I mean, he had been eating ice cream to help the swelling."

He was taken to a suburban Denver hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery. The nail had plunged about four centimetres into his brain, barely missing his right eye, Metcalse said.

"This is the second one we've seen in this hospital where the person was injured by the nail gun and didn't actually realize the nail had been imbedded in their skull," neurosurgeon Sean Markey told KUSA-TV in Denver. "But it's a pretty rare injury."

Lawler was recovering Sunday in the hospital, where he was expected to spend several more days.

Despite his lack of medical insurance and hospital bills between $80,000 and $100,000 US, Katerina Lawler said her husband is in good spirits.

"The doctors said, 'If you're going to have a nail in the brain, that's the way you want it to be,' " she said. "He's the luckiest guy, ever."

That's quite the toothache

 

[Syterion]

How did nobody see it? Did it not leave a hole?

 

[Perfection]

Oh, there's been cases of nails going years without being detected.

 

[Rhymes]

Moral of the story: If you wanna shoot a nail in your skull, do it in Canada!

 

[Fetus4188]

It was in Colorado..

 

[Plexus]

Real moral of the story: Don't shoot a nail into your head in the United States, unless you have insurance, and don't shoot a nail into your head in Canada, that way, the taxpayers won't have to pay for its removal.

 

[Hundegesicht]

I remember reading in the paper about an extremely drunk man who got shot clean through the head (so it was sticking about an inch out the other side) with an arrow by an equally drunk friend for target practice, and didn't even notice it for several minutes. Apparently after undergoing several hours of surgery to get it out, he hadn't even experienced noticeable brain damage. (other than having a 1 cm diameter hole through his skull...)

 

[Rhymes]

Real moral of the story: Don't shoot a nail into your head in the United States, unless you have insurance, and don't shoot a nail into your head in Canada, that way, the taxpayers won't have to pay for its removal.

Guess your right...

 

[Hundegesicht]

Don't worry, I'll make sure to move to Canada if I ever intend to drive a 4 inch nail into my skull...

 

[MarineCorps]

How does one not notice a nail in ones mouth?

 

[thetrooper]

Phineas Gage - say no more...

Try a google picture search for Phineas Gage .

 

[Civrules]

Hard to imagine how it could go unnoticed.

 

[CurtSibling]

This fellow must not be the sharpest tack in the box...Or the mouth, if you'll pardon the irony!

 

[Flak]

Well that nails it then. I've got to go to the dentist.

 

[nonconformist]

Good thing he finally got it pinned down.

 

[zeon252]

wow, just wow. that has to suck. $100,000!?!?!??!?That's crazy.....

 

[CurtSibling]

That 'hammers' in the message that private treatment is expensive!

 

[Civrules]

wow, just wow. that has to suck. $100,000!?!?!??!?That's crazy.....

Yes, I'd be more pissed about the price rather than the whole nail thing.

 

[CurtSibling]

At that price - I would have kept the nail in my head, thank you!

Thank goodness I live in a society where the bolsheviks in Westminster give us all national health care!