Flying_Mollusk Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 LITTLETON, Colorado (AP) -- A dentist found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth -- a four-inch (10-centimeter) 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, 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 (4 centimeters) 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." http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/16/nailgun.a...t.ap/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotcorner Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 that's one hell of a toothache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fritz Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Nail guns scare the chit outta me. I hate those damn things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fritz Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Yeah, we have a 32' extension ladder at home and I went up about 15 or so feet on it once and felt like I was gonna die. I freaking hate ladders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 The part I love is that he was unaware of it happening. How could you not know? That's like these women who don't know they're pregnant. Ridiculous :shifty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Man Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Thats insane... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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