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Dante Autullo, 32, had no idea the nail had entered his brain for 36 hours, until he began feeling nauseous. He received the removal surgery at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn on Jan. 19.
Autullo, a father of four, was building a shed in his garage on Jan. 17 and using a nail gun above his head when the sensor accidentally released a nail into his brain.
"It really felt like I got punched on the side of the head," he said, “but I continued working because I thought it went past my ear."
Autullo went on with his day, but woke up the next day feeling nauseated with a nasty headache. He visited the hospital and found out that he had a nail lodged in his brain.
When doctors showed him the bright white silhouette of the nail on his X-ray, Autullo couldn't believe it. "I thought it was a joke.”
Doctors said that the nail came within millimeters from the part of the brain that controls motor function, and he was rushed by ambulance to the other hospital for more specialized care.
Hospital spokesman Mike Maggio said the surgery took four hours, and some part of the skull had to be removed, but was replaced with a titanium mesh. Autullo is reportedly fine and recovering well at home. "It's amazing, a miracle" his fiancee said.
While there are pain-sensitive nerves on a person's skull, there aren't any within the brain itself, which is why Autullo would have felt the nail strike the skull, but not penetrate his brain, doctors said.
