A Mississippi man is lucky to be alive after a lawn mower shot a three-and-a-half inch metal wire up his nose and into his head. Bill Parker, 34, of Gulfport was mowing his lawn while at his family home last Sunday when he thought a rock hit him in the face not realizing it was actually a metal fence wire. Dr Timothy Haffey, who removed the wire which was as thick as a heavy-duty nail, said that it miraculously dodged all of Parker's important nerves and arteries. Bill Parker, 34, of Gulfport was mowing his lawn on April 19 when the rusty metal wire entered his left nostril and was lodged in his sinus cavity (above the CT scan showing the wire inside Parker's head) Parker (left) thought a rock had struck him in the face but after going to Memorial Hospital a scan revealed it was a three-and-a-half-inch metal fence wire . 'It threw me back a little bit and it hurt real bad,' Parker told the Sun Herald. 'I felt my face but I didn't feel any disfiguring or anything. I saw blood, so I knew I got a bloody nose.' After nearly 15 minutes following the incident, he and his fiancee Katie Heggins decided for him to go to Memorial Hospital for treatment. A CT scan revealed the metal wire had been shot up his left nostril and was lodged in Parker's sinus cavity beneath his eye socket and next to his jaw hinge. 'Had it gone straight up his nose at the rate it was traveling, it could have gone inside his brain,' Heggins told the Sun Herald. Dr Haffey removed the wire with a simple sinus surgery which took 20 minutes and entailed making an incision on Parker's upper lip. 'It was about a nine-centimeter long, rusty piece of metal that went all the way up to his skull base, and it pretty much dodged everything,' Dr Haffey told the Sun Herald. 'Once the scan showed that, my job was pretty easy.' 'He shouldn't have any long-term effects,' he added. 'Basically, it was a sinus surgery. The problem is this was a rusty piece of metal.' Dr Timothy Haffey removed the wire in a 20-minute sinus surgery (left the wire being removed from Parker's nose). Dr Haffey made an incision on Parker's upper lip during the surgery (pictured right the incision) The rusty wire (above the wire after it was removed during surgery) dodged all of Parker's important nerves and arteries, according to Dr Haffey . Following the surgery, Parker shared on Facebook that he was grateful to be alive as he retold his account of what happened the day before. 'Just woke up at memorial hospital. Much of yesterday is kind of a blur and lots of it i just don't remember,' he wrote. 'Always wear protective gear for your face when cutting grass!!! I thought a rock or something flew out and hit me, it felt like getting shot in the face. 'Cat scan determined it to be a metallic object in my sinus cavity.' Parker (above) is taking antibiotics to prevent infection and said he plans to find someone else to mow his lawn . 'I'm grateful to be alive. Several doctors were completely amazed at what had happened to me and stressed how lucky I really am,' he continued. 'The metal had somehow made its way through a tangle of really important nerves and arteries and finally rested about a millimeter from both carotid artery and my jugular vein. 'Guess it just wasnt my time yet.' The metal wire was sent to a pathology lab and Parker is taking antibiotics to prevent infection. He was back at work by Wednesday, albeit a little bruised. He said this Sunday, he plans to relax with his fiancee and seven-month-old daughter Sophia — and find someone else to mow his lawn.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT . Bill Parker, 34, of Mississippi was mowing his lawn on April 19 when the wire shot up his left nostril and was lodged in his sinus cavity . Dr Timothy Haffey removed the wire through a 20-minute sinus surgery and said the wire miraculously dodged Parker's important nerves and arteries . The wire was sent to a pathology lab and Parker is taking antibiotics . Dr Haffey said Parker should not have any long-term effects .