Man drives 20 km to hospital with nail in his heart

Minor accidents at home can lead to terrible and possibly fatal consequences, but sometimes courage and luck can give way to medical miracles that result in amazing recoveries. The heart is an extremely vital organ for human beings, and any damage to it can be deadly, but one man from Wisconsin managed to emerge safe due to quick thinking.

While creating a frame for a fireplace at his home, 52-year-old Doug Bergeson’s nail gun accidentally slipped and he ended up with a nail piercing right into his heart. He didn’t know how severe the impact was but minutes later knew what had happened as the nail twitched with his heartbeat.

He realised that the nail was so deep that he can’t just pull it out, so he himself got in his car with the nail in his heart and drove for 20 km to the hospital. He was taken in the emergency room as soon as he reached as he texted his wife surrounded by nurses.

After tests and a tetanus shot, Doug underwent a open heart surgery which took over an hour as the nail was removed and doctors made sure that there was no damage on the surrounding area. They said the nail was an inch away from a major artery and if the heart would’ve been in a different part of the beating cycle, things may have been difficult.

Doug’s quick decision to not pull out the nail came as a result of Steve Irwin’s death which was caused by him pulling out a stingray’s stinger out of his heart.