Brenda

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 1970, a bizarre gardening accident embedded a small nail deep inside Guy "Bud" Hart's body.

More than 35 years later, the nail made an unexpected return, much to Hart's surprise.

The Placerville man was stunned earlier this month when a coughing fit expelled the inch-long sliver of metal, completing its decades-long trek inside the 84-year-old's body.

"I didn't think something like that could happen," Hart said.

The story of Hart and his unexpected passenger began in Minnesota back in 1970. While mowing grass one day, Hart felt a slight pain in his throat and saw a small trickle of blood.

"It was like a bee sting," Hart said. "But I didn't think much of it."

Hart wasn't overly alarmed, but just hours later, the discomfort began.

"The next day, when I coughed, it was like I had a hot knife in there, cutting me," Hart said.

His family rushing him to the hospital with a 105-degree temperature. There, doctors determined their culprit, the small nail that had apparently dropped down inside Hart's body cavity and nestled inside his ribcage.

Doses of penicillin helped Hart heal, but since removing the metal would require major surgery, and doctors suspected the nail would seal itself off in Hart's body, the foreign object was forgotten for years.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Hart said.

Years later, the nail turned up again on a doctor's x-ray, but again, the unobtrusive item was left alone.

Then, three weeks ago, an internal camera captured an image of the nail during a routine doctor's office visit. But it wasn't in Hart's ribcage area as he'd always thought -- the object was actually in Hart's lungs. As Hart and his doctors made plans to remove the nail once and for all, natural physiology took over.

Hart was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth last week when the 35-year partnership finally came to an end.

"I'd been having this tickle in my throat," Hart said. "Pretty soon, I started coughing. And it plopped right out."

Since the pair were separated, Hart's been feeling fine and doctors have no reason to think the nail had any lasting impact on his health.

Hart has been keeping the nail in a small plastic bag, but doesn't have any long-term plans about what to do with the strange artifact.

"Sell it to the Smithsonian Institute?" Hart laughed. "No, I never gave it much thought."

The guy is such a down-to-earth fella, I was also wondering who alerted the media to his interesting story. :)

Brenda

DH - "Hon, where's my screwdriver?"
Me - "I think I swallowed it."
DH - "No, not THAT screwdriver! My tool!"
Me - *hiccup*

Brenda

Brenda

We had one that stripped the peanut butter completely off three traps, without tripping them over a five day period.
The contest was on, let me tell you.
Never before had it taken more than two settings of my hair trigger traps and I got my quarry.

But here was this little rascally rodent about to [and in fact nearly did] ruin my Great White Hunter reputation.

My DW thought the whole episode was hilarious, "It's Man against Mouse", she told her friend. Which only made me more dertermined that this dangerous daring, yet somewhat dextrous minimus would be bagged and tagged before the week was over.

Day six, after cleaning, re-baiting and resetting the treated traps triggers, to their finest fastest and most fatal tripping point,SNAP! and the beast was mine.

No more patter of tiny feet, no more tiny toothed sculptured chocolate bars, no more ridicule, no more scoffing, no more sleepless nights, until next time.................
But for this moment,I am once again Master of my own Domain.

"Horton the Hunter".

P.S. I rent out, but I'm not cheap!

The old lady that swallowed the fly? Is that yet another nursery rhyme that I missed out on in my youth?

Ugh, the ol' mouse infiltration story! I feel your pain. Horton the Hunter, you should offer yourself up on eBay! If someone would pay $31 dollars for the ultimate body piercing (piercer?), I can only imagine what they'd pay for the Great Northern Mouse Hunter!

Brenda

i cheer them on or at least get a chuckle, so shoot me :) just dont set any hair trigger traps in my neck of the woods. i want to keep my neck.

*gasp* brenda, you have never heard that song? it is so much better heard. i shall be singing all night now! well, may not be better heard in my singing voice, though.

I don't know where those people earned their MIDI licenses, but they should be retested bi-annually. The songs sound nothing like they should!

Brenda

The bidding is now up to $257.53.

Sheesh, if I ever cough up something solid, I'll be kind enough to offer it up on the exchange forum here first before making a profit on eBay. That's just the kind of person I am.

Brenda

brenda, selling it on ebay is even more bizarre! buying it? i have no words.

Putting ZC down for one hairball. :D

Brenda