PESHTIGO, WI (WBAY/CNN) - A Wisconsin farmer is back on the job a month after accidentally shooting himself in the heart with a nail gun. He's back to working on the same types of projects that led to that emergency, and enjoying how viral his story has gone.
Life is returning to normal at Bergeson Farms, and Doug Bergeson is back to working his three jobs. He is sleeping only a few hours a night, yet still making time for the little things like spoiling Albert the duck. The pet duck prefers someone hold an ear of corn for him to eat.
"A lot of people come out to the farm and say, 'Oh, we saw you on TV!' Everybody's heard about it. Gives you something more to talk about than the weather, I guess," Bergeson said of the nail gun accident.
To say he is a sort of celebrity now, doesn't begin to explain the attention he's received. "I've kind of lost count. Say, New York, they were the first ones. Los Angeles, Dubuque, a couple places in Canada,” Bergeson said of the media attention.
Add to those New Zealand, the United Kingdom and about 30 other interviews. He is an internet sensation with pages and pages dedicated to his story.
It has aired or appeared in print on at least four continents. "Come up as Turks and Caicos. It's like, 'wow, I hope they want me down in person!” he said.
Everyone wants to talk to the man who didn't want to be a bother, and calmly drove himself to the hospital with a three and a half inch framing nail stuck in his heart. It barely missed a main artery by a hair. "A lot of people were surprised I didn't pull it out. But when I saw where it was, it's kind of like, 'uh, too many things I need inside there,'" he said.
It's all a laugh now, but he hopes his story is memorable enough to prevent an accident for someone else. "Of course they're analyzing everything. Well, what did he do wrong? He shot himself with a nail, that's what he did wrong!" he said.
Despite a weight restriction he considers more of a suggestion, he's still plugging away on his house. "It hasn't deterred me from the nail gun, we still use that, shorter nails, though,” Bergeson said.
While a lot of people consider him a lucky man, he thinks his luck has probably run out. “Still trying lottery tickets. That doesn't work, though,” he said.
That's OK. Albert the duck still needs someone to feed him.
Copyright 2017 WBAY via CNN. All rights reserved.
