Man survives six nails driven into head

[Bombardier]

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A construction worker had six nails driven into his head in an accident with a high-powered nail gun, but doctors said Wednesday they expect him to make a full recovery.

Three nails penetrated Isidro Mejia's brain, and one entered his spine below the base of his skull. Doctors said the nails barely missed his brain stem and spinal cord, preventing paralysis or death.

He made his first public appearance Wednesday since the April 19 accident that left him with 3 1/2-inch nails embedded in his face, neck and skull.

He told reporters in Spanish from his wheelchair that he does not remember much about the accident, but is grateful to be alive.

"He says that he's very happy to be alive," said Dr. Rafael Quinonez, a neurosurgeon who removed the nails at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. "And he told me this morning that he thought he was going to die. He was happy when he opened his eyes, and he saw that he's still with us."

Mejia, 39, was atop an unfinished home when he fell from the roof onto a co-worker who was using the nail gun, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Mark Newlands said.

The two men tried to grab each other to keep from falling, but both tumbled to the ground. At some point, the nail gun discharged and drove the nails into Mejia's head.

"They're extremely powerful," Newlands said. "They've got to drive through three-quarter-inch plywood."

Quinonez said Mejia told authorities he remembered a "shock" to the back of his neck and little else before passing out.

"We did not have too much hope that he would survive, but we did it and he survived," Quinonez said, calling the recovery "close to a miracle."

Mejia is walking with minimal assistance and speaks somewhat slowly because his brain's speech center was affected, but his progress has been "remarkable," Quinonez said. With rehabilitation therapy, he should fully recover, he said.

"He is basically normal," Quinonez said.

Five nails were removed the same day and the sixth, in Mejia's face, was removed April 23 after swelling went down, the hospital said.

Authorities cleared the co-worker of any wrongdoing.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/05/05/nail...l.ap/index.html

[DudeAsInCool]

YIKES!

[CTC Command]

Oh I hate when that happens!

[Redneck4sure]

Authorities cleared the co-worker of any wrongdoing.

That was big hearted of them. :psychofun:

[MxRob]

It really brings light to the phrase" You really hit the nail in the head"

[CTC Command]

I think you NAILED that one, Mx!

[Bombardier]

Alright, enough with the nail jokes

[Redneck4sure]

Kinda adds a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Man....I really got nailed at work today."

[Bombardier]

Alright! That's it!

One more nail joke I'll have to summon the guy with the rubber chicken!!

:taskmaster: :psychofun:

[CTC Command]

Two blondes are working on a house. There is one nailing down siding. She'd reach into her pouch, pull out a nail, and hammer it in, or throw it over her shoulder. The second blonde noticed what was going on and wanted to find out what she was doing.

"How come you keep throwing nails over your shoulder?"

The one nailing explains, "If I pull out a nail and it's pointed away from the house it's defective and I throw it away, but if it's pointed towards the house it's good to use!"

"You idiot,"she belts out "The ones facing away from the house are for the other side!!"

[CTC Command]

DIY accidents are responsible for up to 35% of practical jokes in the UK.

£0.95 + P&P

OUCH!

A simple illusion which never fails to make us laugh.

The nail is bent around your finger but the bandage makes it look as if it has gone right through and you are bleeding.

Also available:

Arrow Through Head, Cleaver Through Head

Plastic nail with fabric bandage. Ages 3 and up

[CTC Command]

Why did the blonde place her finger over the nail while she was hammering?

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The noise was giving her a headache.

[CTC Command]

:rotfl:

[DudeAsInCool]

:good job:

[CTC Command]

Q: How do you know when a violin is out-of-tune?

A: When the bow's moving.

Q: Why is a violin like a scud missle?

A: Both are offensive and inaccurate.

Q: Why are violins smaller than violas?

A: They're actually the same size. Violinists' heads are bigger.

Q: What's the difference between a violin and a fiddle?

A: A fiddle is fun to listen to.

Q: Why do violinists put a cloth between their chin and their instruments?

A: Violins don't have spit valves.

Q: Why should you never drive a roof nail with a violin?

A: You might bend the nail.

Q: Why are viola jokes so short?

A: So violinists can understand them.

[CTC Command]

Amy, a city girl, marries a farmer.

One morning, before he goes out to the fields, the farmer says to her, "The artificial insemination man is coming to impregnate one of our cows today. I drove a big nail into the two-by-four over the cow's stall. You show him where it is."

The farmer leaves, and a while later, the artificial insemination man arrives. Amy takes him down the rows of cows until she sees the nail.

She says, "This is the one, right here."

The man says, "How do you know?"

Amy says, "By the nail over its stall."

The man says, "What's the nail for?"

Amy says, "I guess it's to hang your pants on."

[CTC Command]

First cannibal: Your son's very full of himself isn't he?

Second cannibal: Yes, that's because he bites his nails.

[CTC Command]

Wilson runs a nail factory and decides his business needs a bit of advertising. He has a chat with a friend who works in marketing and he offers to make a TV ad for Wilson's Nails.

"Give me a week," says the friend, "and I'll be back with a tape."

A week goes by and the marketing executive comes to see Wilson. He puts a cassette in the video and presses play. A Roman soldier is busy nailing Jesus to the cross. He turns to face the camera and says with a grin "Use Wilson's Nails, they'll hold anything."

Wilson goes mad shouting: "What is the matter with you? They'll never show that on TV. Give it another try, but no more Romans crucifying Jesus!"

Another week goes by and the marketing man comes back to see Wilson with another tape. He puts it in the machine and hits play. This time the camera pans out from a Roman standing with his arms folded to show Jesus on the cross. The Roman looks up at him and says 'Wilson's Nails, they'll hold anything'.

Wilson is beside himself. "You don't understand: I don't want anything with Jesus on the cross! Now listen, I'll give you one last chance. Come back in a week with an advertisement that I can broadcast."

A week passes and Wilson waits impatiently. The marketing executive arrives and puts on the new video. A naked man with long hair, gasping for breath, is running across a field. About a dozen Roman soldiers come over the hill, hot on his trail. One of them turns to camera and says 'If only we had used Wilson's Nails!'.

[CTC Command]

"What's the difference between a nail, a screw and a bolt?" the woodwork teacher asked Judi, the only girl in the woodwork class during the first day of school. Judi pondered the question for a moment, then replied, "Well, I can't rightly say as I know, 'cause I ain't never been 'bolted'."

[CTC Command]

What's the difference between Jesus and a picture of Him?

You only need one nail to hang a picture...

[CTC Command]

A duck walks into a bar and asks the bartender for corn. The bartender says "We have no corn, get out of here." So the duck leaves. The next day he comes back and asks for corn again, and the bartender says "I told you, we don't have any corn! Get out!" So the duck leaves. The next day he goes in again and asks for corn, and the bartender says, "For the last time, we don't have corn! If you ever come back, I'm going to nail those webbed feet of yours to the floor!" So the duck leaves. The next day the duck comes and asks, "Do you have any nails?" The bartender says, "No, of course not. Why would a bar have nails?" The duck then says, "Good. Then can I have some corn?"

[CTC Command]

Confucious say..."It take many nail to build crib, but one screw to fill it."

[CTC Command]

Q: What did one hammer say to the other hammer?

A: "I broke a nail!"

[CTC Command]

Yo mama, yo mama is a carpenter's dream flat as a board and so easy to nail...

[CTC Command]

Confucius say... "Nail on board is not good as screw on bench."