A man in Chicago is recovering after he accidentally shot a 3.25 inch nail into the middle of his brain without noticing. Dante Autullo was building a shed and using the nail gun above his head when he fired it. He had no reason to believe that the nail did anything other than graze his head, and his partner cleaned the wound.
The day after the incident, Mr Autullo was feeling nauseous and was encouraged by his partner, Gail Glaenzer, to seek medical help. Doctors then told him that x-rays revealed he had a nail lodged in his brain, millimetres away from the part that controls motor functions. He was then transferred to another hospital to have the nail removed.
"It really felt like I got punched on the side of the head," Mr Autullo said. "I thought it went past my ear."
Neurosurgeon Leslie Shaffer admitted that the case was unusual but not extremely rare. He said "This [the nail] is thinner, with a small trajectory, and pointed at the end. The bone doesn't fracture much because the nail has a small tip."
It is remarkable that he didn't know the nail was there, and even more remarkable that he survived. Ms Glaenzer has said that her partner is feeling well, is moving all of his limbs and remembers everything.
