Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Sinaloa: Woman survives live grenade in face
By Joshua Norman
Mexican seafood vendor Karla Flores is being called the "Miracle Woman."
She survived having a live grenade lodged in her face.
One day relatively recently in her home state of Sinaloa, the mother of three was peacefully plying her business on the street when she heard an explosion and was knocked to the ground, Gizmodo reports.
Flores felt a burning sensation, saw blood after she touched her face, and then the next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital, The Daily Mail reports.
At first, Flores thought a rock hit her, and doctors couldn't figure out what the large, round object stuck between her jaw and the roof of her mouth was, the Mail reports.
After medical imaging, they realized it was an unexploded grenade. If it went off, anyone within a 32-foot radius was likely to die. Flores was isolated immediately.
It is believed that the grenade was fired with a grenade launcher, hence the explosion Flores heard, Gizmodo reports. Why it didn't go off - and why Flores was targeted - is still a mystery.
At first, no one wanted to go near Flores to remove the grenade, but eventually four brave people - two anesthesiologists, a doctor, and a nurse - went with Flores and two explosives experts from the Mexican Army's to a far-removed open field to dislodge the grenade, the Mail reports.
Using only local anesthesia, the unprotected medical team gave Karla a tracheotomy so she could breath, and removed the grenade without it going off.
She lost half her teeth, the Mail reports, and video of Flores shows her with a large scar on the right side of her face, but she didn't die.