Ouch
Posted on 01/16/2005 9:47:01 PM PST by freakboy
Cause of Man's Toothache? A 4-Inch Nail
By ERIN GARTNER Associated Press Writer
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) -- A dentist found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a four-inch 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 1 1/2 inches 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, 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."
Ouch
Now how in the world does somebody shoot a 4-inch nail into his skull and not know it...?
Well. It's obvious. We're going to have to get rid of all nail guns.
:) Denote sarcasm.
It is beyond me. Of course, this is an AP article on the New York Times site, so I heavily discount the details therein.
Oh, I hate it when that happens.
Judging by the pictures, wouldn't the nail have obstructed his vision in some way? Bizarre.
It said he had blurry vision, but man, that's a big nail.
It's easy to miss stuff like that. :^)
Backfired? Does that mean the nail entered his head head first? And, where was he entrance wound? And, why the bandage on the top of his head?
DoH!,,,
And, why the bandage on the top of his head?
Had to go in from the top to pound it back out.(sarcasm)
Some individuals have a pain threshold that is quite amazing.
$80k-$100k to get a nail yanked? He could have got a day laborer to do it for $7/hr.
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