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Man Had No Idea a Knife Was Still Stuck in his Chest a Year After Being Stabbed

A Filipino man was unaware that he had a knife lodged in his chest for over a year after being stabbed while walking home.

Kent Ryan Tomao, 36, was attacked on his way home from work in Kidapawan City in the Phillipines in January of last year.

But when doctors treated Tomao, they just sewed up the wound instead of removing the blade that was stuck in his chest.

Tomao only realized the knife was still stuck in his chest when he had a health check for a new job on March 23. The knife was next to his rib cage, just inches away from piercing his lungs.

He is now demanding that the doctors who treated him over a year ago remove the 4-inch blade. He cannot start his new job as a miner because his employers think it would be unsafe for him to work with the knife in his chest.

“The doctors did not check my wounds properly last year so I believe they are partly at fault about what happened. They should fix this,” Tomao said.

According to Tomao, after his attack, doctors stitched him up to stop the bleeding, gave him painkillers, and sent him home.

The pre-employment medical check for his new mining job included an x-ray that found the knife pointing upwards and stuck in his rib cage.

Tomao said that his chest would hurt occasionally when the weather was cold, but he never thought there was a serious problem.

“I always wondered why I felt pain in my chest when the weather was cold. But I had no idea there is a knife in my chest,” he said.

“The pain was never bad enough to even go to see a doctor. I just waited for the pain to pass. Now I’m relieved that I know the real problem,” he continued.

Tomao will have to have surgery to get the knife removed before he can start his new job. Unfortunately, he does not have the money to pay for it.

“I can’t start working until I remove this knife but without a job I will not have money to pay for my medical needs,” he said.

Tomao plans to go back to the hospital next month and ask them to remove the knife.

Tomao said he does not want to sue the hospital, he simply wants the knife taken out so that he can start work.

“I will not press charges, I just want them to remove the knife so I can start working in my new company,” he said.