Turn Signal In Arm - A seven inch 1963 T-Bird turn signal lever that was lodged in a man's forearm for over 50 years was removed by doctors on New Year Eve.
Reports indicate that Arthur Lampitt, a 75-year-old former real estate agent and resident of Granite City, IL. was involved in a terrible accident in July 1963 in Peoria.
"It was a God awful accident and it was not very probable that someone would come through something like that-they figured. And, Yeah, I was reported being dead by one of the radio stations," Lampitt recounts.
According to local sources, the accident left his arm bleeding seriously although it seemed like a mere surface wound. Lampitt also suffered at least five broken bones and a broken hip. Doctors had to remove about 50 pieces of shattered glass lodged in his skin and left arm. He spent about two months in a body cast and had a tracheotomy to assist him breathe easily.
Lampitt thinks because the accident was so severe and had seriously damaged his lower body, doctors did not notice the seven inch metal stuck underneath his skin.
He said he lived with the metal rod in his arm for about fifteen years without being aware it was there. He only discovered it while trying to enter a Jerseyville courthouse and a metal detector went off.
Lampitt said he consulted with his doctor who examined it and concluded that it must have been from the accident or a surgical instrument the doctors may have mistakenly sewed up inside his forearm. However, he was told to live with it since it did not cause any immediate pain or inconvenience.
But Lampitt says in early December 2014 he started feeling pain and observed a swelling on the arm after trying to carry a cement block.
"Everything was fine until it started to get bigger, Lampitt's wife Betty said."The arm started bulging."
After a few days he visited his doctor again, this time he referred him to Doctor Lang, a specialist.
On Dec.31, Doctor Lang removed the seven inch metal from Lampitt's arm following a 45-minutes operation.
"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."
"I was amazed to see how corroded it was. It's almost got all of the chrome off of it," Lampitt said. When asked what he will do with it, he replied "Well, I don't know. I thought I was going to make a key chain out of it, but as awful as it looks I don't know."
