Bjorn Burke, Staff Reporter

A senior citizen has never quite looked at glass the same way again, ever since he had the misfortune of having a piece stuck in his foot. What resulted would be considered an annoyance to most, as he became acquainted with that piece of glass for over 40 years.

Bus owner and operator Winston 'Leo the Lion' Campbell, 71, shared with THE STAR his minor ordeal.

On one faithful day sometime in the 1950s in Chapleton, Clarendon, Campbell was only a wee lad when his youthful exuberance led him to climb a coconut tree. It was on his way back down, however, a barefooted Campbell landed on a broken glass bottle. The glass shard became embedded in his sole, with the wound later appearing to heal perfectly. Over the years, he has tried varying methods of removing the shard, but none seemed to do the trick. He told THE STAR that he lived with the annoyance as it would only provoke him occasionally. The splinter became the bane of his existence up until recently.

"Whether you want to believe me or not, that piece of bottle, was in my foot for over 40 years!" a wound up Campbell told THE STAR.

Campbell has tried several methods over the years in attempts to remove the glass fragment. He decided enough was enough. He had just about had it. After visits to various medical practitioners, an x-ray revealed that there was in fact a sizeable piece of matter that penetrated his foot. He was advised that a procedure to remove the fragment would set him back a whopping $100,000. Seeking an alternative, the elder, along with his son 42-year-old Oneil Henry, set off assuming the role of informal surgeons and went to work. The duo employed a slew of home remedies.

"True me use to mi old time days because the thing that inspire me - You know the show name Rambo? And inna one of dem him get shot. Him hot the dagger and use it and take out the gunshot. You remember that show? Is that show deh inspire me," Campbell said.

Home remedies

Luckily, unlike a scene out of the film series, Campbell's home remedies did not involve any heated daggers or gunshot wounds, but did feature needles, a pair of tweezers, kerosene oil, and brake fluid. According to him, the brake fluid turned out to be the best home remedy in aiding him to remove the piece of glass lodged in his foot. Apparently, it serves the purpose of drawing the glass to the surface of the skin.

"Me use the brake fluid and put in down inna the wound, and then now it penetrate the hole and start soften it up. Just a finger tip. And then now when it start force it up, mi make mi son use a tweezer and draw it out. But me nuh want member back pon that, it did really terrible. Little most mi faint when it was coming out. How yu mean man?" Campbell said.

He joked that during the procedure, he refused to take painkillers, as Rambo, his movie hero, was a brave soul who did not take any medication in the film. Additionally, the senior is of the opinion that frequently taking any form of medication "feed pon yu nerves" and "make yu body tremble".

The pair was victorious in removing the piece of glass. Henry admitted that he too was sceptical that there was in fact a piece of glass inside his father's foot.

"It look like the little thing just get comfortable and adapt to his foot. Because it did form a coating around it and it never looked like it was irritated. When it come out now and mi look pon it, it look like it deh in deh for a long time fi true," he said.

Today, Campbell says he feels like a new man and is delighted to wear close-toed shoes again rather than sandals. During a stop at a bus park following the removal of the fragment, his colleagues noticed the change immediately. He was the 'talk of the town' as everyone seemingly knew about his glass grievance.

Campbell does not readily recommend his methods to everyone, but added that it has worked for him.

After being alerted to Campbell's apparent success story, medical doctor Jephthah Ford warned the public to be wary of some home remedies.

"Using brake fluid and what have you to extract it, of course all these things are poisonous. He could be poisoning himself. If he's diabetic, he could have made his condition worse. It could affect the blood vessels. It is not entirely the sensible thing to do," Dr Ford explained.