51 Years After Wreck, 7-inch Car Part Found in Arm

[Drache]

Fifty-one years ago, Arthur Lampitt of Granite City, Illinois, smashed his 1963 Thunderbird into a truck. This week during surgery in suburban St. Louis, a 7-inch turn signal lever from that T-Bird was removed from his left arm.

Dr. Timothy Lang removed the lever Wednesday during a 45-minute operation. Lampitt, now 75, is recovering at home.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the accident broke Lampitt’s hip, drawing attention away from the arm, which healed.

A decade or so ago, his arm set off a metal detector at a courthouse. An X-ray showed a slender object the length of a pencil, but since it caused no pain or hardship, Lampitt was told to let it be.

He was moving concrete blocks a few weeks ago when the arm began to hurt for the first time.

‘‘Everything was fine until it started to get bigger,’’ Lampitt’s wife, Betty, said. ‘‘The arm started bulging.’’

Lampitt decided to have surgery. He initially wasn’t sure what was in the arm. He wondered if perhaps a medical instrument had been left during the emergency room visit in 1963.

He unearthed a collection of old photos of the mangled Thunderbird taken by a friend at the scene. He noticed the metal blinker lever was missing from the left side of the steering column. He figured that was it, and surgery at City Place Surgery Center in Creve Coeur, Missouri, confirmed it.

‘‘Seven inches long,’’ Lang told Betty.

‘‘Oh, my God,’’ Betty said.

Lang said a protective pocket grew around the lever.

‘‘We see all kinds of foreign objects like nails or pellets, but usually not this large, usually not a turn signal from a 1963 T-Bird,’’ Lang said. ‘‘Something this large often gets infected.’’

Lampitt wasn’t sure what he'd do with the lever — maybe make a key chain out of it.

‘‘We'll figure out something, I am sure,’’ he said.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2...t-found-arm/PooSKnhOeTNKVpEpDad48M/story.html

 

[66340SEDAN]

Crazy!

 

[FISHYPETE]

My brother-in-law was in a bad wreck early 80's. Years later he was rubbing his forehead and pulling out glass schards

 

[71dartswinger]

I have a bb in my hand been in for 42 years

 

[barbee6043]

another Missouri old parts hound!!!!! wow, incredible!!!!!

 

[norton]

You have to wonder how he never got some sort of infection.

 

[straightlinespeed]

Or how that never bothered him doing certain things.. Wow crazy!

 

[69DARTS]

Wowzers

Posted via Topify on Android

 

[TrailBeast]

I have a bb in my hand been in for 42 years

My younger Brother has a BB in his *** cheek.
Wanna guess how it got there?

 

[DaveBonds]

That would drive me insane.

I can't even let a splinter sit for any longer than it takes to remove it.

 

[95teetee]

That would drive me insane.

I can't even let a splinter sit for any longer than it takes to remove it.

I have about a 3/8 inch long piece of wood in my forearm that got jammed in there while I was a window installer (never noticed it until after the cut healed) but something like that would be noticable I would think...

 

[straightlinespeed]

I have about a 3/8 inch long piece of wood in my forearm that got jammed in there while I was a window installer (never noticed it until after the cut healed) but something like that would be noticable I would think...

Reminds me of when I was about 7. I was running full speed bare foot down a ply wood dock. I for some reason decided to stop well the dock was wet and I slid. Needles to say I ended up with about a 6-7" splinter that was about 1" wide down the length of my foot. I was stuck to the dock. The other kids I was swimming with ran and got my mom and dad. Dad came down broke that piece of wood off the dock and carried me to the house.

For some reason they never wanted to take me to the doctor so they got the pliers and pulled it out... My god was that painful, and bloody!! To this day I still walk very carefully on any dock and I do not ever run on them.

 

[Dartnut]

That's just crazy!

 

[95teetee]

I for some reason decided to stop well the dock was wet and I slid.

ok...I started cringing at this part.

I ended up with about a 6-7" splinter that was about 1" wide down the length of my foot.

then it got worse.

 

[Chuckman]

Reminds me of when I was about 7. I was running full speed bare foot down a ply wood dock. I for some reason decided to stop well the dock was wet and I slid. Needles to say I ended up with about a 6-7" splinter that was about 1" wide down the length of my foot. I was stuck to the dock. The other kids I was swimming with ran and got my mom and dad. Dad came down broke that piece of wood off the dock and carried me to the house.

For some reason they never wanted to take me to the doctor so they got the pliers and pulled it out... My god was that painful, and bloody!! To this day I still walk very carefully on any dock and I do not ever run on them.

That's horror movie material if you ask me. Man! I'm glad your OK!

One summer I was unloading the car after vacation. I picked up the garment bag and swung it over my shoulder. The hanging hook at the top was swinging free, and when I swung it over my shoulder it went right in my eye. It lodged between the eye ball and by skull. I pulled it out and went to find my wife. I was referred to a eye doctor by the ER. He monitored it for a while, but no real harm done.