A Wisconsin man was able to drive himself to the hospital to get to the emergency room after he accidentally shot a nail through his heart. He was reportedly working on framing a fireplace at his house when the incident took place.
How the nail punctured his heart
According to People, the Nail Gun fired one nail but it ricocheted off from a wood before puncturing his chest. He revealed that the nail gun fired twice without him being ready and the second time it went off was the time the nail ricocheted, Global News shared.
The incident happened last June 25.
He was able to drive his pick-up truck and bring himself to Bay Area Medical Center. He was identified as Doug Bergeson.
He revealed that he felt okay even after the nail punctured his chest. He was not worried about the injury because he could not feel any pressure or blood building up. He saw around 3.5 inches of nail sticking out of his left chest and knew that he should not pull it out so he decided to drive himself to the hospital. Bergeson added that he could see the nail moving with his heartbeat.
Bergeson texted his wife
While at the Emergency Room, Bergeson texted his wife Donna. His texts were incomprehensible at first but eventually, his wife understood what his text meant. He told her he was in the ER and that a nail was in his chest so he needed her to come and bring him a new shirt as the former top already had a lot of blood.
His wife took her 45 minutes to get to the hospital and she noted that the drive was the longest 45 minutes of her life.
Nail close to a major artery
Bergeson was transferred to Aurora BayCare Medical Center. He even offered that he could drive himself to the other hospital and does not need an ambulance. The second hospital’s cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr.
Alexander Roitstein, said that the nail hit the heart of Bergeson and that the nail was already 1/16-inches away from one of the heart’s major arteries.
Roitstein also said that if the position of the nail was different, Bergeson would have more problems. Bergeson did not suffer any permanent damage except for bruising and a nail-sized hole on his chest.
He said he is now back to doing the normal things he does after spending two days at a hospital and recovering weeks later. He noted that he is back to doing the normal things he is doing but he is more careful now. He referred to the incident as an awakening experience. He will also be back at work after weeks of recovering.
