Man lanced in head with fishing rod walks out hospital in east Taiwan

台灣東部遭魚竿刺穿頭部的男子從醫院逃走

Doctor had just removed fishing rod from man's eye socket when he suddenly walked out


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man who suffered a freak injury to his head with a fishing rod suddenly walked outside wearing only adult diapers before doctors could finish treating him.

While climbing up to grab something, a man surnamed Lin (林) accidentally fell, and as he landed, a fishing rod punctured his lower jaw and exited his eye socket, reported CNA. Early this morning, the Taitung County Fire Department received a notification that a fishing rod had pierced through Lin's head.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, they saw that the rod had lodged in Lin's skull, and they cut off both ends of the rod, but did not remove it, and rushed him to the nearest hospital. Lin was conscious and aware that he was being sent to a hospital, but despite being trimmed down, the length of the rod was still 40 centimeters, and he asked firefighters to remove the rest of it from his head.

Once at Taitung Mackay Memorial Hospital, a physician removed the rod from Lin's eye socket in the emergency room and prepared to perform surgical debridement. However, while waiting in the operating room, Lin reportedly said, "I want to walk outside."

The doctor said he could not leave due to safety concerns, but Lin suddenly got out of bed and walked out of the hospital. He then walked about 1.5 kilometers toward Fongle Industrial Park from Changsha Street to Kangle Bridge on Lanzhou Street.

Security guards, doctors, and nurses then followed Lin and tried to convince him to return to the hospital as he walked. Finally, once Lin had reached the Shengfa Heavy Machinery Repair Factory in the industrial zone, paramedics were finally able to persuade him to get inside an ambulance and go back to the hospital to complete his medical treatment.

The hospital stated that the patient surnamed Lin had puncture wounds in the lower left jaw and right eye socket and was conscious. After undergoing emergency treatment, he is currently in the operating room to undergo debridement and repair to nerves, blood vessels, and muscles, and after surgery will be transferred to the intensive care unit for observation.