Man loses both his legs just minutes into first day on new job and by a 'miracle' survives
The first day at a new job can be stressful for anyone - but for one man, it quickly turned into a nightmare as he 'miraculously' survived a life-changing injury which saw him lose both of his legs.
John O’Neill's life had been on the up - he'd gotten sober, had a new home, and got a job he enjoyed working with trees.
The 33-year-old was just 15 minutes into his first day when he was working a wood chipper.
He had placed a hook-shaped branch into the chipper which was flipped around by the blades in the chipper.
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By an awful chance, the hook became caught around an ankle monitor bracelet that John was wearing due to a court order.
This pulled him into the chipper feet first, with the blades slicing clean through his boots before working up through his feet, his ankle, and then over the knee.
For a few horrific moments, John's coworkers were oblivious to what was happening.
Speaking to the Denver Post, John recalled the accident.
He said: “I was yelling for help but everyone had ear protection on.
“It took a minute before my coworkers realized what was happening.”
The incident lasted only a few moments, and the blades had reached to John's thighs by the time his coworkers were able to extricate him from the machine.
He said: “I looked down and saw something that looked like what you see in movies."
That something was what was left of John's legs after the wood chipper had eviscerated them.
John recalled waking up in hospital on September 24, the day after the accident.
He said: “I was in an excruciating amount of pain. I felt my legs were broken. It took me a minute to realize and remember what had just happened.”
And when John looked down at the bed where his legs had been, there was nothing.
“The pain was very - it was not there almost,” he said. “I didn’t really feel the pain as much as I knew I was in trouble. It went from a fight for my limb to a fight for my life, very fast.”
John recalled helping his coworker to fashion a tourniquet, saying: “I didn’t freak out, I did stay calm. My coworker said I was very cognitive throughout the whole thing.”
Through his and his coworkers' quick and calm actions, as well as the efforts of medical staff, John survived his ordeal.
Now, he hopes to continue volunteering and supporting people trying to get sober once he gets prosthetics.
He said: “That’s the kind of goals I’m setting for myself to be right back there and I’m not going to listen to anyone who tells me that’s impossible.
“I’m someone who can do things I’ve never done before.”
Kit Roberts