For most of us, the thought of finding an intruder in our homes is terrifying - much more so when that intruder is a violent criminal. That's what happened to a Belize City Resident this afternoon when he got to his Curassow Street home. The man - who has refused to release his identity - was tuning his radio when the intruder came out of nowhere and started stabbing him with - of all things - a 5-inch Nail. We went to the hospital today where doctors were trying to figure out how to take it out.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
These x-rays show the nail impaled in the back of the young man. Medical Doctor at the KHMH's Accident and Emergency Ward Dr. Martha Habet says that the object could only have been driven in by someone with brute strength as it is lodged on the spinal column.
Dr. Martha Habet, KHMH A&E
"It should be a really strong person to do that because you have to go through the bone. This young man came in with a large, it seems to be like an object like a nail in his back."
Alfonso Noble, 7NEWS
As these medical photographs show, the nail is jutting out 2 inches and was driven in another 2 inches - causing one lung to collapse. The only way to remove this foreign object is through surgery.
Dr. Martha Habet,
"This large foreign body is encrusted in his vertebral body in one of the bones it is very large and it has to be removed under general anesthesia."
"At this moment, the patient is not showing any changed in his neurological status. He is not showing any sign that it has nerve involvement so we suspect that it is only on the bone. But actually after the surgery we will determine exactly what is the damage that the nail has done."
Alfonso Noble,
And while that is yet to be determined, one thing is clear: someone coming into the A&E with a nail sticking out of his back is an extraordinary, unsettling occurrence.
Martha Habet,
"It is very rare. It is the first time I have seen."
This evening the young man was taken in to surgery to remove the nail and expand a lung that had collapsed as a result of the injury.