Man Takes Nail to the Heart, Calmly Drives Himself to the Hospital and Lives

Doug Bergeson came roughly 1/16th of an inch away from serious peril – but he still remained pretty calm about the whole situation.

The 52-year-old man from Peshtigo, Wisconsin was building a fireplace frame for a house back in June when his nail gun accidentally fired, sending a three and a half inch nail ricocheting off the building materials and into his chest.

Bergeson said he only felt a slight sting, and nothing worse. Since he couldn’t see anything on his chest, he took his shirt off and only saw an inch of the nail sticking out of his skin.

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According to the Associated Press, Bergeson was “annoyed” that he could not get more work done, but he knew that he had to go to the hospital because the nail was twitching along with his heartbeats. He also knew that he should not pull the nail out.

He then cleaned himself up, hopped in his truck, and drove himself to the Bay Area Medical Center 12 miles away. He had parked his truck and walked into the ER when he started to feel pain in his chest. Bergeson then asked a security guard if they could find someone to help while he sat down and rested.

By the time doctors took X-rays of his chest, they found that the nail was indeed embedded in his heart. Not only that, but the nail had landed 1/16th of an inch away from a major artery.

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Doctors then rushed Bergeson off to the Aurora Bay Medical Center by ambulance for treatment.

“I offered to drive myself, but they wouldn’t let me,” Bergeson told AP, chuckling.

Bergeson was only in the hospital for two days before being sent home to recover, but he says that the whole experience is something that will stay with him for a long time to come.

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