RICHARD
05-30-2009, 06:12 PM
Shrapnel dislodged after 65 years
An 87-year-old former soldier has had a new lease of life after a piece of shrapnel that had been lodged in his jaw for 65 years suddenly dropped out.
Alf Mann, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, had struggled to speak and eat properly since he was injured by an explosion in 1944.
One morning he woke to find blood over his pillow - along with a half-inch piece of shrapnel.
Alf can now talk properly and eat food such as steak.
The pensioner from Sheldon, Birmingham, told the Daily Mirror: "I can't believe it. I could hardly open my mouth before and it caused problems with my speech.
"I do have very small bits of shrapnel in my hands and a piece dislodged out of my shoulder two years after I returned from war but I had no idea that it was in my jaw. It's fantastic now I can move my mouth properly and I have been able to eat steak and lamb cutlets, which I couldn't before."
His wife Constance added: "He has never talked about the war much until now. I never knew half the stories he has told me in the last couple of weeks. It took him all these years.
"He seems happier - but the food bills are more expensive."
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I have always tripped on stories like this and have had a few experiences - though not as rough - as this gent.
Good on him!
An 87-year-old former soldier has had a new lease of life after a piece of shrapnel that had been lodged in his jaw for 65 years suddenly dropped out.
Alf Mann, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, had struggled to speak and eat properly since he was injured by an explosion in 1944.
One morning he woke to find blood over his pillow - along with a half-inch piece of shrapnel.
Alf can now talk properly and eat food such as steak.
The pensioner from Sheldon, Birmingham, told the Daily Mirror: "I can't believe it. I could hardly open my mouth before and it caused problems with my speech.
"I do have very small bits of shrapnel in my hands and a piece dislodged out of my shoulder two years after I returned from war but I had no idea that it was in my jaw. It's fantastic now I can move my mouth properly and I have been able to eat steak and lamb cutlets, which I couldn't before."
His wife Constance added: "He has never talked about the war much until now. I never knew half the stories he has told me in the last couple of weeks. It took him all these years.
"He seems happier - but the food bills are more expensive."
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I have always tripped on stories like this and have had a few experiences - though not as rough - as this gent.
Good on him!