Flamebaittrolls
18-01-2005, 04:33
Source (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11973253%255E13762,00.html)
Man unaware of nail in brain
From correspondents in Los Angeles
January 18, 2005
A DENTIST found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a 10cm nail the construction worker had unknowingly embedded in his skull six days earlier.
A nail gun backfired on Lawler, 23, on January 6 while working in Breckenridge, Colorado, and drove a nail into a piece of wood nearby, but Lawler didn't realise a second nail had shot through his mouth.
Following the accident, he 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 Denver hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery. The nail had plunged 4cm into his brain, barely missing his right eye, his sister Lisa 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 realise it," neurosurgeon Sean Markey said. "It's a rare injury."
Mr Lawler was recovering in hospital yesterday where he was expected to have to spend several more days.
Despite his lack of medical insurance and hospital bills expected to amount to between $105,000 and $130,000, Katerina Lawler said her husband was 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."
The Daily Telegraph
Luckiest guy? HA! Stupidist you mean. How can you not know you've shot yourself in the face with a nail gun that's in your brain?
Man unaware of nail in brain
From correspondents in Los Angeles
January 18, 2005
A DENTIST found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a 10cm nail the construction worker had unknowingly embedded in his skull six days earlier.
A nail gun backfired on Lawler, 23, on January 6 while working in Breckenridge, Colorado, and drove a nail into a piece of wood nearby, but Lawler didn't realise a second nail had shot through his mouth.
Following the accident, he 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 Denver hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery. The nail had plunged 4cm into his brain, barely missing his right eye, his sister Lisa 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 realise it," neurosurgeon Sean Markey said. "It's a rare injury."
Mr Lawler was recovering in hospital yesterday where he was expected to have to spend several more days.
Despite his lack of medical insurance and hospital bills expected to amount to between $105,000 and $130,000, Katerina Lawler said her husband was 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."
The Daily Telegraph
Luckiest guy? HA! Stupidist you mean. How can you not know you've shot yourself in the face with a nail gun that's in your brain?