GUY SHOOTS NAIL INTO HIS HEART, DRIVES TO HOSPITAL

A Wisconsin man who doctors say came perilously close to death after accidentally shooting a nail into his heart while working on his house calmly drove himself to the hospital and even parked his pickup truck in the lot before walking into the emergency room. On June 25, Doug Bergeson, 52, was working on framing in a fireplace at his house near Peshtigo in northeast Wisconsin when his nail gun accidentally fired, sending a nail ricocheting off some wood and into his chest. “I thought it just nicked me. I looked down. I couldn’t see anything,” Bergeson says. “I felt OK. I wasn’t worried about the injury. I couldn’t feel any pressure or blood building up.” As he tugged at his sweatshirt, he realized only about 1 inch of the 3 1/2-inch nail was sticking out of his chest. “I could see the nail moving with my heartbeat. It was kind of twitching with every heartbeat,” Bergeson said. He washed up, hopped in his truck and made his way to Bay Area Medical Center about 10 minutes away. After X-rays were taken, Bergeson was rushed by ambulance to Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay. “I offered to drive myself, but they wouldn’t let me,” Bergeson said, chuckling. Dr. Alexander Roitstein confirmed the nail hit Bergeson’s heart, saying it was also 1/16 of an inch from a major artery. He said it was difficult to assess how deeply the nail penetrated, but the nail left bruising and a nail-sized hole. Bergeson spent just two days in the hospital and has been recovering at home since the incident. He finally will be able to return to his day job this week. “I feel pretty good. I’m back to doing things carefully,” he said. “It was a pretty awakening experience.”
* As in, awakening in the middle of the night, screaming.
* “The heart wants what it wants,” and his wanted a Band-Aid.
* When it comes to scary home repair accidents, this guy nailed it.
* It’s like “Final Destination” meets “This Old House”.
* I think I’ll stick with using a hammer, thanks.