U3A Writing: The Nail Swallower
…when all at once a boy ran out of the carpentry shop and called out to me that Henry, one of the boys there, had swallowed a two inch nail….’’ Douglas Smithson tells of a small crisis at an approved school.
A normal day in the workshops at Dobroyd Castle School in Todmorden, a Senior Approved School. My Building workshop was next to the Carpentry one. The first hour of work had been very quiet, when all at once a boy ran out of the carpentry shop and called out to me that Henry, one of the boys there, had swallowed a two inch nail. Immediately I went into their workshop and saw that it appeared to be true.
I went with the boy concerned to the sick bay and told the matron about it. She was not convinced that the boy was speaking the truth but another boy who had followed us from the Carpenter's shop was adamant that it was true. The Headmaster soon appeared and it was decided that the Henry must be taken to the infirmary for advice and any necessary treatment.
The Headmaster took Henry and myself to the infirmary in his car. There an X-ray was taken and it was immediately seen to be true. I had never expected to see a two inch nail inside anyone's body, but there was no doubt about it. There it was, as clear as a bell, inside his chest.
What was to be done? Nothing. The Doctor told us that Henry must stay in the infirmary for observation and that they would let the school know of any developments.
About four days later the Headmaster sent for me and told me that I was to go and bring Henry back to school from the infirmary as he was now quite fit.
At that time I had never been responsible for any of the boys outside the school and was a little worried that Henry might want to run away from me. The Headmaster was not at all concerned and told me what to do.
I arrived at the infirmary and Henry was brought to me as fit as a fiddle. The nail, according to the Doctor, had passed through his system without doing any damage.
I then followed the Headmaster's instructions and took Henry's trouser braces and belt from him and cut off the top button of his trousers, at the same time telling him to put his hands in his pockets to keep his trousers up.
All went well and we arrived back at school for Henry to be questioned times without number what it was like to eat two inch nails. He was allowed to keep the X-ray of himself with the nail clearly there.
