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 found the culprit, a small nail that had 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 lung. 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 keeps 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."
To put this in perspective - this nail has been in his body since I was born. 35 years. That's incredible!
When I was 6 or 7 I stuck a marble up my nose, like one of those chinese checker marbles, it was the white one. Well the marble disappeared up my nose, I never told my mom or anyone and soon forgot about the incident. Fast forward. I was about 14, playing soccer, running around all the sudden I had to sneeze, so I involuntarily coverd my face with my hands and blewey, the marble shot out of my nose and into my hand. I was completely shocked, but was relieved.
I guess this story opens me up to the comment about me loosing my marbles
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[size=14][b]Letters from the procupine, they'll stick straight through you.
So read one anytime you think you've made mistakes.[/b][/size]
Redskins Win wrote:When I was 6 or 7 I stuck a marble up my nose, like one of those chinese checker marbles, it was the white one. Well the marble disappeared up my nose, I never told my mom or anyone and soon forgot about the incident. Fast forward. I was about 14, playing soccer, running around all the sudden I had to sneeze, so I involuntarily coverd my face with my hands and blewey, the marble shot out of my nose and into my hand. I was completely shocked, but was relieved.
I guess this story opens me up to the comment about me loosing my marbles
Is this serious? I have to ask because of your noted wry sense of humor, RW.
knapplc wrote:Is this serious? I have to ask because of your noted wry sense of humor, RW.
Yup 100% true
Did you keep it? That's pretty cool.
And that does explain a lot about where your marbles went...
I was in soccer gear, which usually don't come stock with pockets. I did however run around with it in my hand. Then I just popped it in my mouth and swallowed it, I'm a big believer in recycling.
That part really wasn't true, I did however run around with it for while wanting to keep it but I think I dropped it. Therefore I guess you could say I dropped the ball on that one
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[size=14][b]Letters from the procupine, they'll stick straight through you.
So read one anytime you think you've made mistakes.[/b][/size]
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by knapplc » Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:37 pm 
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