Newcastle ChronicleIn the kind of accident which makes us scared to go camping ever again, a man recently impaled his eye with a two-foot tent peg when he tripped and fell.
James Pattinson says he is lucky to be alive after he stumbled and fell face first onto the peg while setting up a marquee for an annual show in the village of Bellingham, Northumberland.
The 28-year-old was left to stagger around the field with the metal rod hanging from his face, as his friends watched on in horror.
Incredibly, when the accident first happened, Pattinson just thought he had grit in his eye! Unfortunately, it was a tad more serious than that.
Speaking to the Newcastle Chronicle, he said:
At first I just thought I had something in my eye – then I stood up and realised it was a tent peg. I tried to pull it out but quickly realised it had buried itself about an inch in. I could feel it touching the bones in my nose.
I was throwing a rope over one of the marquees, I let go of it and tripped, falling headfirst into the peg. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, it went into the bottom corner of the left eye. I could feel it touching the inside of my nose. That’s when I though this could be a problem!
Newcastle ChronicleA friend drove James to the nearby Hexham General Hospital. However, en-route they called the A&E department, who told them they needed to go to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary. Because of the distance, the Great North Air Ambulance had to be sent out to airlift James to hospital instead.
Unfortunately, things then went from bad to worse for James as, upon his arrival, doctors realised that the peg lodged in his head was so big it would prevent James from fitting in the scanner. So, they had to call the fire brigade to cut it down while it was still stuck in James’ eye.
Luckily for James, scans showed that the peg had actually missed all vital areas and wouldn’t leave him with any lasting damage.
It took three hours of surgery to remove the peg, but James was only in hospital for one night and is now at home recovering.
He added:
A massive thank you to the air ambulance for helping me. It’s brilliant work they do and, living out where we do, it’s a service we just can’t do without.
Talk about a lucky escape for this guy!
