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Man Recovers After Nail Gun Accident
LOS ANGELES (May 5)
- 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.
Isidro Mejia 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 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.
Three nails
penetrated 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.
''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.
AP-NY-05-05-04
2311EDT
05/05/04 20:57 EDT
Copyright
2004 The Associated Press.
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