NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE 'MIRACULOUS'NAIL-GUN SURVIVOR RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER TWO WEEKS.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

MISSION HILLS - A Lancaster construction worker who survived a freak nail-gun accident that lodged six of the projectiles into his head and neck thanked God and his doctor Wednesday for his life.

Sitting in a wheelchair, his hands folded on his lap, a visibly weak Isidro Mejia spoke to reporters about what doctors have called a miraculous recovery.

``I feel fortunate. Thanks to God and to the doctor who operated on me,'' Mejia said softly in Spanish.

According to police reports, the 39-year-old was working on the roof of a Palmdale home on April 19 when he slipped and fell onto an unidentified co-worker who was holding a compressed-air nail-gun. The tool went off, firing the 3 1/2-inch nails into Mejia.

Four of the nails penetrated Mejia's skull, including three that entered his brain. One of those nails came within centimeters of his brain stem. Another nail pierced his vertebral column while the sixth went through his face.

Mejia was comatose when he was airlifted to the trauma center at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where Dr. Rafael Quinonez operated and removed five of the nails. The nail in Mejia's face was removed on April 23, after the swelling went down.

``We did not have much hope he would survive,'' said Quinonez, a neurosurgeon, adding that Mejia is expected to make a full recovery.

``It's amazing and miraculous.''

Still, Mejia's speech is slow, his face is numb and the little English that he did speak appears to have vanished, although doctors say it may return.

Police are investigating the incident, and whether the safety mechanism on the nail gun may have been altered to allow it to fire rapidly.

``It was a bizarre accident, one of the freakiest I have ever seen,'' said Los Angeles sheriff's Sgt. Ken Kyle.

Mejia, whose wounds are still visible, said he is unsure what the future holds.

``All I want is to continue my life with my children, my family. But I don't know what will happen with me.''

Mejia's wife, Juana Mejia, 32, watched as her husband spoke quietly to reporters.

``I am happy,'' she said. ``We are all happy.''

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Isidro Mejia was working on the roof of a Lancaster home April 19 when a freak nail-gun accident fired six of the 3 1/2-inch projectiles into his head and neck. Mejia was released from the hospital Wednesday.

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center

(2 -- color) Neurosurgeon Rafael Quinonez, M.D., looks on as Isidro Mejia describes the incident that left six nails in his head and neck.

(3) At a press conference Wednesday, neurosurgeon Rafael Quinonez, M.D., explains the two-hour operation he performed on Isidro Mejia, calling his recovery miraculous.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer