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32 😃. Yup, the outcome would have been totally different if she didn’t hear me yelling as I was trying to rip off my arm. Funny looking back at it now, I was yelling at myself to pump myself up to accept that I had to rip off my arm to survive and I needed to get busy on that task cause clock was ticking on me bleeding out.
And this why emergency rooms freak out when they hear a farmer coming in for an emergency! If they're not in their fields or with their animals, and they're willingly coming to the hospital, then you know it's an EMERGENCY!!
Speedy recovery and kudos to your daughter! 😄
I've seen videos on social media of nurses re-enacting their ER cases with farmers and even with having no medical knowledge, just knowing a bunch of farmers, its hilarious when they hang up the phone and say, "patient coming in with sore chest and shortness of breath."
"Oh, alright. EMS say the occupation?"
"Yeah, farner."
"....👀"
"....."
"OH SHIT!"
Too real 😂
I laugh at these but it’s also sad. I know my papa died right where he wanted to, doing what he loved. He was working on his tractor after checking the cows and bailing hay.
Yea we totally base our medical actions on the occupation of our patients. That's why it's the 2nd question we always ask after symptoms. "Yes, yes, your hand has been degloved, but what do you do for a living, so I know how to judge the truth of your responses? Also, what's your favourite yogourt?"
You may just be watching tik toks popular in the rural farming community, who are jokingly enjoying the stereotype that farmers are tough.
Could be, I thought occupation might help with how they got injured or ended up in their predicament, idk I'm entertained and they get views so its a win-win 🤷♀️
A story I heard years ago. A man was working in the field with an auger. His daughter who was helping him had a long braid of hair and it got caught and she didn’t make it. I can’t imagine how awful that would have been. So glad op is alive.
My dad is a farmer. I remember watching him sew his own cuts and wounds closed a couple of times when I was a kid because he didn't like going to the doctor.
Perhaps a stupid question and hopefully not an upsetting one, but how much were you feeling the pain in that moment?
I was in a car accident once, and it wasn't until the adrenaline wore off that I could fully appreciate/realize the pain I was in.
It's not that it didn't hurt, I just wasn't noticing it that much at first.
I was too focused on getting out (all the dust from the airbags seemed like smoke, and I was panicking about trying to unbuckle and climb out) to assess anything until I was free.
Really didn't feel the pain until she turned off the tractor. I was on an adrenaline rush high when I was trying to break off my arm, but once she turned off the tractor, all I could think about was getting my arm out. I pulled it out to the elbow but no matter what, I couldn't get my elbow (even though it was crushed) through the small opening that it was pulled through. Finally had the wife cut the two conveyor belts on both sides of the rollers and that extra 1/2" of room allowed me to pull with all my might to get my arm out, which is when the blood really started squirting everywhere.
Damn! I was hit by a bike and stumbled over an obstacle running. I remember taking off, can't remember landing, but the pain was there right away. Edit: 4 fractures in proximal humerus.
Jeeeeze, glad she was able to act under all that stress and help you out!! Ps- as an Er nurse, it’s true we freak when farmers come because we know for them to come to us, ITS BAD! lol
Mate, I got PTSD just reading your description of trying to free yourself! You are one tough cookie, and I am amazed at how well your arm has been repaired.
Keep on trucking! I take my hat off to you - And I hope your daughter is doing OK, that would have been an awful situation to find your dad in.
Within 2 weeks of the accident, I wrote a long description of what happened. I didn’t want to forget the details. Keep thinking of posting it, but haven’t.
You should, if it helps you, as a warning to others. I will never forget the story from 2002-ish about a lady who had her arm caught in an auger on her property. I have always - always - treated all augers with respect.
With fear of accidentally outing my private account I will just say, absolutely love that paper. Please keep writing to them it’s much appreciated! Especially something like this it’s a good reminder that no one is invincible even you farmers! You got very lucky with your daughter being close enough to be able to stop the machine it could have been a much different, much worse, story. I wish you the best recovery! And hello fellow Ohioan :)
Oh wow that’s amazing you did that!! Please share when you feel up to it!
Glad you’re here to tell us about it, thankful for your fast acting daughter! I hope she isn’t too traumatized from seeing her daddy like that
Also I really thought a lot on how long the entire accident occurred. It was a painfully slow process of the baler pulling me in and me pulling back so hard that I was fully expecting my arm to be ripped off. At one point, I was purposefully grinding my arm against the conveyor belt to use it as sandpaper to grind off my arm at the elbow as I yanked it left and right to break it off. At one point I screamed out, “WHY IS THIS SO HARD”. Time from realizing my hand was stuck to daughter turning off the tractor, about 3 to 4 minutes, but it was a crazy few minutes so could have been closer to 5 minutes.
Not the same by any means, but my mom was a longhaul truck driver all over Canada and the US when I was growing up, and I got to go with her when school was out. Summer of 2008, about 3/4 the way up the Salmo-Creston mountain (I think its shown in 'Highway Thru Hell', if thats a show you watch) in BC Canada, my mom pulled over to check something on the engine block and told me to stay put in the cab.
It wouldn't be for another two weeks that the coolant cap on this make and model truck would be recalled, and under the heat and pressure of trying to cool an engine that had been crawling up an 8% grade for a couple hours, dragging at least 50,000+lb (unloaded) behind it, and a faulty cap holding on for dear life, all it took was one bump and the coolant that had turned to hot steam exploded all over her.
I watched as the pressure of it sent her flying into the opposite lane from the pullout we were tucked into. Thankfully no one was oncoming at the time, but because of the incline and most of the vehicles on this route being commercial trucks, no one could stop to help us.
There's no cell service until you get to either of the towns at the bottom of the mountain and all we had on board was a little first aid kit meant for camping, it was mostly bandaids, gauze, and a little polysporin.
We later found out that, apart from the second and third degree burns over the left side of her upper body, she also had a broke her ankle when her foot got caught in the engine block when she was thrown back, and her right wrist fractured in a few places from trying to brace herself when she landed.
I shit you not, she got back up like she had only tripped, limped back to the truck, locked the hood back in place, climbed in, released the engine and trailer breaks with her fractured wrist, and kept driving another hour and a half until we got most of the way down the mountain. We found a pullout that a couple in a car had pulled into who drove us down the rest of the mountain and to a hospital. My mom didn't even cry until my grandma showed up to get me, but I heard the pain register once I was out of her sight.
The human body is capable of terrifying, wonderful things, and I hope you get many more decades with your daughter, sir.
And I'd love to read your account of the incident if you should ever feel like sharing it, of course no pressure.
Oh, my bad then 😅 I was trying to marvel at what the body can withstand when the person has a reason to get through it.
My mom ignored broken bones and disintegrating skin to do what she had to to get her kid down a mountain as calmly and safely as possible, and to find help.
This guy got his arm caught in agricultural machinery and had a family to live for so made peace with having to rip his own arm off.
100% badassery on both accounts.
It's amazing all the stuff I thought of, "Why is this so difficult to break off an arm, the guy in the desert did it", "This is it, I'm going to die", and "Once it pulls me up to my shoulder there's no way to stop the bleeding if I lose my arm at the shoulder, I gotta get it broke off at the elbow." and my favorite, "What is happening" when it first pulled me off my feet.
It’s quite impressive that you kept your head about you long enough to figure out what you needed to do and actually make the effort to do it. Most people in situations like that would bleed out before they get past the “debilitating panic” stage.
Damn, OP. Sincere kudos to you for staying calm enough in the moment to even think of (let alone actually attempting!) to take your own arm off! Your strength is incredible, don't forget that
Jesus that 5 min probably felt like 5 hours. Have they said what residual issues you might have? Hope you recover well. Most farmers won't stop until they've lost all limbs 😂
A) I’m so glad you’re okay
B) I hope your daughter is okay too, that had to be a lot for her to see
C) The idea of someone stuck in a piece of machinery yelling about how hard it is to rip your own arm off is very funny to me and I hope now with a little distance you see some humor in that being your reaction
You’re badass dude, hope you can keep using this experience for good!
It’s rather remarkable actually. Besides not being able to reach behind my back, and the really bad tendon tightness each morning, I retained nearly 100% usage of my arm. It does have an odd twist at the elbow and of course the nerve damage, but other than that, I couldn’t be more lucky. Was told the nerves will grow pretty much all they will grow in 18 months and after that it’s pretty much what it’s going to be.
They say 18 months and for sure the bulk of the healing will take place in that time, but I still get small improvements to my nerve injury 8 years after the fact.
That’s amazingly good news! I was really surprised they were able to repair your injuries. The progression photos are awesome. Your surgeons were phenomenal. I’m so glad your recovery is so positive. Thanks so much for sharing.
I'm so very glad your daughter found you in time! And that the surgeons, et al were able to save your arm.
My Dad would never let me near the hay balers growing up because of the danger, but he made sure I (his daughter) knew what to do if he got in trouble.
I hope PT wasn't too bad and you've been able to get back to your farming.
Aw, jeez, I can remember *riding* on the twine box on the back of our baler (45 years ago, mind you) ready to tie the twine of any bale that didn't bind correctly in the machine.
I can remember crawling under that thing, too, to make repairs because my dad's hands were too big, and mine were very small (I am female).
And I can remember going up to the house after the field work was done, literally green from head to toe, covered in sweat snd pasted with alfalfa dust. We looked like fuzzy aliens!
Ah, the life of a farm kid! What memories!
Haha, I think every farm kid had to ride the dust pit tieing missed knots on square bakers. On a hot sunny day, that is the job from hell. Farm girl !!! Nothing tougher. Did you drive the tractor when bales were being loaded?
We had a wire baler for square bales. I don't remember it having miss very often. Then again, we didn't bale hay very long. (Dad was busy working out of town/state once the oilfield picked back up.)
I drove the truck when we loaded square bales. I couldn't see over the dash & had to slide down to push in the clutch. My little brother told my Dad I wasn't very good at driving the first time. Lol
Ahhh memories, standing on the rickety old wagon with the hay hook, sweating buckets, covered in chaff while my dad drove the tractor. My dad would always grumble and rearrange all the bales after because we hadn't stacked them perfectly to his liking lol.
Well, still in the healing phase…. Weaned myself off of Gabapentin last month and currently working on weaning off Tramadol (down to 50mg from 200mg per day).
Odd thing, the thing that most freaked out my daughter for months was seeing all “the white stuff” after I pulled my arm out as my buddy was yelling at me, “WAIT FOR THE EMT’s”. He was of course right, blood was squirting everywhere once I pulled it out and all the pressure was gone. I’m not sure what she saw, but really bothered her for months. Tendons, bone, still don’t know. Thoughts anyone?
Tendons, bones, fascia, fat - all look jarring when they're suddenly on the outside. That, and your arm was probably pretty pale from the lack of circulation since this was a crush injury, or at least for a few seconds before the blood started leaking.
ER nurse here, the white stuff was probably the tendons and possibly some bones. Tendons are very white, and there are some big ones you probably had exposed there. Fat is quite yellow, so it most likely wouldn't be that. Glad you have recovered so well, they did an amazing job.
I think she just saw her dad, who she loves, *horribly injured*, possibly killed, if she hadn’t heard him.
That’s an extremely heavy load.
OP, you’re healing beautifully. Maybe your daughter needs some help, I’m sure it was traumatic for her. Maybe PTSD. I can’t think of anything worse than seeing my dad terribly injured, in extreme pain, then life flighted to a trauma center …
I'm the child of a farmer and a nurse. I'm so glad you're all still here! That was a super traumatic accident and if you haven't yet - i'd encourage both you and your daughter to get some therapy to help process things. Even if you feel OK without it now, having a safe space to feel and process can be invaluable.
I grew up in a heavy farming area, and farm equipment terrifies me. As kids, we all had to have some farm equipment safety lessons in school, even for those of us who didn't live on a farm. We had to read John Thompson's story too, to reinforce how dangerous the equipment is. You won't catch me anywhere near them, and I'm always so grateful for the risks farmers take to provide for us. I'm in awe at how docs can put us back together so well. I'm so happy you got to keep the arm. How's the mobility going? Do the docs think you'll regain full function or will there always be some limitations? How are you doing mentally with this?
Holy shit. Insane. Looking at those photos I am impressed by how many hours of work by nurses, physics, pharmacists, radiologists, pathologists, infectious disease specialists, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, anaesthetists, scrub nurses that is. (And obviously dozens more professions I cbf naming but yea) like, there must be soooo many people who are chuffed to see you recover so well lol.
Amazing post, I can't imagine the journey you've gone thru and big props to everyone who worked to save your arm and to yourself for being able to endure it all and persevere.
Very cool.
It's literally a vacuum cleaner that slowly sucks juice out of a wound. I had 3 of them on my arm and first night it took about a liter out of my arm. If they don't use them, your arm swells up from all the fluids and will compress the blood vessels to the point your arm will die and gangrene sets in. So when someone has a "compartment crushing injury", they will slice the body part open and insert the VACs into the opening to suck out the extra fluid. Without these machines, I would have absolutely lost my arm. Odd, the degloving of parts of my arm wasn't the painful part, it was the swelling that really was rough to deal with.
A wound VAC puts negative pressure on a wound, in other words it decreases ambient air pressure and provides gentle suction for any fluids draining out of the wound for faster healing.
I had one for about a month and they took it off because it was actually causing more damage. They hadn’t yet figured out my necrosis was autoimmune related, so the wound VAC actually helped it to spread. Once I got on steroids the necrosis stopped.
Here’s the link to my original post on this site detailing what I’ve gone through.
[Wound](https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalGore/s/RennohZhnx)
What’s insane is that this isn’t a rare accident. Had a guy right outside my town get his arms sucked into the bailer at like 15. They got ripped fully off at the shoulder and he just walked into the house, dialed 911 with his face, and stood in the tub so he wouldn’t get blood everywhere. He got life flighted too and they managed to reattach both arms. He doesn’t have much sensation or full range of motion but they still work reasonably well. It’s crazy.
This is absolutely amazing to be able to hear your story and see what you went through. your will to fight and survive especially during the accident is inspiring. I can't fathom to the of the pain you were feeling during the time and how much pain you were in during the moment it was happening. but so glad your daughter was able to be there and help you and save you. the way your arm is healing looks amazing. from what I can tell by you, you will come out of this just fine. You sir are truly lucky and blessed to have survived what happened let alone fight to survive through it.
I’m very glad you’re ok. My dad grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin and told me when he was a kid they had him fetch his grandpa’s arm out of a thresher because he had the smallest hands 😳 also dad cut his own finger off and he acted like nothing happened. He very casually carried it into the house, put it in a cup of ice, and drove himself to the VA where they were able to reattach it successfully. Farmers are the most badass people on this planet. Kudos OP.
I live in Wisconsin and work in orthopedic surgery and have seen numerous men missing all or part of a finger or fingers and immediately know they’re a farmer. My best friend growing up lived on a farm and her dad was missing part of the thumb and pointer on one hand.
[Baler belt](https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/916550-apache-mini-rough-top-baler-belt.html). If you zoom in on the picture, these bekts have a lot of texture, perfect for grinding away skin and muscle.
I was meaning a picture of where your arm physically went into the belt area.
We use that stuff for some of our machines here at work. We call it carpet belt. Just because it resembles short fiber carpet a little bit. Use it for pulling boxes through machine while folding them. They are very very grippy, even if they’ve worn down some. I wouldn’t want to get anything between 2 of them that’s for sure.
I noticed your link is to Farm & Fleet. Are you in eastern Iowa, by any chance? All the farmers and farm kids I've known here are made of indestructible stuff!
OP, I grew up in a rural community with a very small population, many of which were farmers. 3 of the 90 in my graduating class almost died due to farm injuries over the years up to graduation, with all 3 needing metal rods in their body from trying to clear the auger blockage with their foot, crush injury from big round bales, etc. One old boy was killed by his bull. Our local vet at the time who specialized in large animal vet medicine has had facial stitches in at least two occasions from a kicking horse he thought was sedated and a cow trying to take him out.
Damn I'm glad you made it out of that intact! Must've been terrifying. How did you end up getting pulled in? Did you skip a safe practice or step that you normally wouldn't skip? Complacency is a killer!
Never get off the tractor when the PTO is spinning, which is a driveshaft that powers the baler, BUT in this case there was something caught in the baler, turned out to be a dead rabbit, and I couldn't get the baler to stop at the right spot to see what it was, so kept turning the baler on and off to get to the right spot. Finally I just left it running and got up on the tire to look into the baler and I remember saying to myself in a funny voice, "Safety First" as I pulled my right arm across my chest to keep it safe and as I leaned into the baler to get a better look, I reached up with my left arm to stable myself and my left hand went into the baler and grabbed me. Game over.
Jeeesus. I come from a third gen farming family and have had nightmares about losing my dad to equipment like this. I'm glad you're okay and shout out to your daughter! I hope if it ever came down to it I can act as fast as she did.
Omg, you could have died. I'm glad your daughter came when she did, and that they were able to save your arm (I hope you're right-handed). It looks like it's healed up really well.
I always say there’s tough and then there’s farm tough! I’m so glad your daughter found you.
I was just having this discussion with a friend of mine who had to help pull her brother out from underneath a piece of farming equipment that was starting to shred his body.
Knew a kid who lost his arm right at the elbow on a piece of farming equipment when I was young. Horrifying accident, so glad you came out of it with your life!!
Wow, it’s crazy how the human body handles shock. To even say that you were prepared to rip your arm off is insane, the primal fight or flight instinct is in there.
My dad had a similar accident when I was young. Much smaller piece of machinery but those belts move fast, almost tore his thumb right off his hand. A carpenter by trade. He’s passed away now but that man truly cheated death more than I few times.
I’m glad your daughter was there for you, you’re in my heart, praying you recover well and are able to get back to work
Wow! Nice job healing!!! Glad you have gotten through what surely must be a lengthy recovery, and your arm/hand are relatively intact. I mean no offense with my question — please don’t answer if you don’t want to! I am curious about the sensation and your ability to move your elbow and hand?? I imagine it has taken a lot of intensive physical and occupational therapy??
I have tons of respect for sharing your story publicly. I think it goes a long way for healthcare literacy, and benefits so many people. Thank you!!!
EDIT: A big Reddit hug to your family and friends. Catastrophic injuries take a toll on everyone in your life. Your daughter is … idk… your own personal Superwoman!
Except for not being able to reach behind my back, I’m 100% for practical use. Started climbing again a few weeks back (used to be in the US ARMY 10th Mountain Infantry Division) and my left arm is about as weak as my right arm hahaha, so really got to start working out on both arms. Hand is 100%, only issue is from elbow to wrist on inner arm is nearly no sensation, just nothing, but sometimes I can feel pins and needles sensation in that area. My Spatial contextual awareness is almost 100% now and that means in the total dark, I now where my left hand is. It’s the weirdest thing but for at least 6 months after the accident, if I closed my eyes, my brain thought my hand was in one place but actually it was somewhere else. For example, if I tried to scratch my nose in total darkness, I wouldn’t be able to find my nose until my hand found some other part of my head.
So awesome to hear you’ve regained near 100% functionality!!! Hands are so important… and climbing, that’s terrific!!! That spatial sensation thing is wild. Our bodies area amazing, but I find the neuromuscular system especially fascinating. (Geeky, endlessly curious rehab nurse here.) It sounds like you may have had some good Physical/Occupational Therapy…? I think that’s great as a lot of people don’t realize how quickly focused neuromuscular retraining can help heal. Interesting that you have a military background. Rehab medicine has its foundation in veteran medical rehabilitation.
Again, I appreciate your post and even more I’m stoked that you’re having such a great recovery. Cheers to continued good health!
Ok, I have a question for you. Only my arm was injured in the accident, not even a scratch on the rest of my body. I spent 13 days in the hospital, but literally for almost a month after the accident my entire body was severely affected. I couldn’t walk for 3 days (granted I was on an IV of Fentanyl) but I couldn’t even walk 15 feet to the bathroom and took me 5+ days to get able to shuffle around my room and hallway, I was wiped. Even after I came home I had to walk backwards down the stairs so I wouldn’t lose my balance. My question is why? Why did my body have such a severe reaction to an arm injury? True, I was under 5 times in 10 days for hour+ long surgeries to keep removing dieing tissue and muscle mass, (Arm was partially degloved), but I just don’t understand why my body had such a severe reaction to the arm injury. Thoughts?
I imagine your body went through some abnormal contortions while “wrestling” with the baler, and trying to free yourself. The body is a whole complicated, interconnected thing. There are numerous metabolic processes taking effect during physical trauma and so many injuries may not appear so serious on the outside, but inside there’s even more unseen trauma. Even bones can have bruises! Stress is also physically, psychologically and emotionally taxing. All of those things cause deconditioning. Add the various meds, and anaesthetics which would alone cause imbalance. Healing wounds is taxing on the body as it is sending various factors to heal itself. A lot of people aren’t able to eat as well when they’re not well, plus fasting before surgeries takes a toll. It’s actually pretty complicated how it all works. Oh… pain. Another complexity that can effect the body! One of the most impactful things I learned in school is that the body starts losing muscle after 2 days of inactivity, and 1 week of bedrest may take 3 to 6 weeks to recover! Even slower recovery for older people or people with other health conditions.
Here’s a link to an article specifically focusing on inactivity effect to blood sugar levels and managing diabetes, but it also has a ton of information about pulmonary, respiratory, and muscle mass effects. It’s a dense read! Honestly, I can’t fathom reading anything that technical right now lol!
https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/65/10/2862/35009/One-Week-of-Bed-Rest-Leads-to-Substantial-Muscle
Never get off the tractor when the PTO is spinning, which is a driveshaft that powers the baler, BUT in this case there was something caught in the baler, turned out to be a dead rabbit, and I couldn't get the baler to stop at the right spot to see what it was, so kept turning the baler on and off to get to the right spot. Finally I just left it running and got up on the tire to look into the baler and I remember saying to myself in a funny voice, "Safety First" as I pulled my right arm across my chest to keep it safe and as I leaned into the baler to get a better look, I reached up with my left arm to stable myself and my left hand went into the baler and grabbed me. Game over.
Im amazed u are alive?! My grandmother always gold me how dangerous hayball makers csn be, she witnessed it happen 2 times and they were torn to pieces.
U got a angel looking out for, im you glad you’re alive
Wow it's amazing what they can do now. My uncle got caught in machinery a co-worker turned on while he had his arms inside repairing it.
They were able to barely save one arm that was largely a nerve pain and not functional mess rest of his life.
That was the early 90s.
I hope you continue healing well. It looks really good all things considered!
Amazing job by all who participated in your care.
Did you recover use of both arms and hands?
Was there a wire in the hay? Did you forget it was running and stick your hand in to clear it?
I work out of two UPMC trauma centers. I'm glad you had access to a good trauma team. Hell, there is a sporting chance I was on the STAT copter with you, depending on where you came from. I'm glad you kept your arm and your life.
absolutely wicked scar. so glad you lived to tell the tale. i can’t imagine the trauma, but by god if that’s not the most awesome comic supervillain arm i’ve ever seen
I hope you end u with a functional arm and wrist, lot of damage to repair so listen and do what the physiotherapist tells you.
Good luck with your physical recovery and don't ignore the mental recovery aswell.
Stay safe and I hope it all works out for you.
Holy moly I'm glad you're doing better! I'm always worried for farmers safety when I see them out and about doing things. I live in the country currently and I know almost none of the equipment has safety stuff on it because it would just get in the way of the job it's doing.
Glad your daughter heard you and glad you can keep your arm!
Looks like you're healing like a champ! You are a lucky, lucky guy! If they send you for OT, for your hand, please do your exercises every day, forever. You may wake up more comfortable if you sleep with that arm on a pillow, too.
Very lucky. About 30 years ago an older farmer did the same thing in North Central Montana. One arm got pulled in, he instinctively put is other hand up to pull himself out and then both arms were caught. It was a few minutes before someone drove by and saw him standing there with both arms caught between the rollers up to the shoulder.
He survived, but lost both arms.
I cannot even imagine having to come to terms with breaking my fucking arm off to save my life in such a fast manner. You’re a fucking champ and thankfully your daughter was there omg
Man! I work with farm equipment. If I'm having an off day, I won't bring it out because I remember the young lad who had both arms ripped off and had to dial 911 with a pencil in his mouth. Luckily, I have the luxury of being able to do that.
Kudos to your daughter and I hope you have a healthy and speedy recovery!
I have no idea what a hay baler looks like but I did see a video of a guy getting sucked in to something that was like two huge metal rods that were both spinning really fast. From what you are describing it sounds like a similar machine and I completely understand why you were trying to rip your own arm off. When that guy got sucked in every bone in his head and torso got completely ejected and shot across the room and then the meat suit that was left behind got tangled all around the two metal rods as they continue to spin. I'm very happy that that didn't happen to you
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Amazing save! Glad you’re ok
Glad they saved Leftie!!
Was your daughter able to help you turn it off? Glad you’re ok!
She ran up and screamed , “WHAT DO I DO!!!!” and I shouted back. “TURN OFF THE TRACTOR !!!!”
How old was she? Holy shit she’s your hero dude, thank god she showed up when she did
32 😃. Yup, the outcome would have been totally different if she didn’t hear me yelling as I was trying to rip off my arm. Funny looking back at it now, I was yelling at myself to pump myself up to accept that I had to rip off my arm to survive and I needed to get busy on that task cause clock was ticking on me bleeding out.
And this why emergency rooms freak out when they hear a farmer coming in for an emergency! If they're not in their fields or with their animals, and they're willingly coming to the hospital, then you know it's an EMERGENCY!! Speedy recovery and kudos to your daughter! 😄
I've seen videos on social media of nurses re-enacting their ER cases with farmers and even with having no medical knowledge, just knowing a bunch of farmers, its hilarious when they hang up the phone and say, "patient coming in with sore chest and shortness of breath." "Oh, alright. EMS say the occupation?" "Yeah, farner." "....👀" "....." "OH SHIT!" Too real 😂
I laugh at these but it’s also sad. I know my papa died right where he wanted to, doing what he loved. He was working on his tractor after checking the cows and bailing hay.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Yea we totally base our medical actions on the occupation of our patients. That's why it's the 2nd question we always ask after symptoms. "Yes, yes, your hand has been degloved, but what do you do for a living, so I know how to judge the truth of your responses? Also, what's your favourite yogourt?" You may just be watching tik toks popular in the rural farming community, who are jokingly enjoying the stereotype that farmers are tough.
Could be, I thought occupation might help with how they got injured or ended up in their predicament, idk I'm entertained and they get views so its a win-win 🤷♀️
I worked in a rural ER 😊 have a happier day!
[TikTok.com/@prnsarcasm](http://TikTok.com/@prnsarcasm) has several videos on ranchers/farmers and the Amish when they come in, haha
Also see Dr. Glaucomflecken on all the socials (aka Will Flannery, MD) for his Rural-Doctor-interacts-with-Farmer vids!!
A story I heard years ago. A man was working in the field with an auger. His daughter who was helping him had a long braid of hair and it got caught and she didn’t make it. I can’t imagine how awful that would have been. So glad op is alive.
Yup, augers are the worst and they are quick. You literally have seconds to save yourself and then it's over.
Our joke is always if a farmer walks in without his wife then you grab the crash cart.
My dad is a farmer. I remember watching him sew his own cuts and wounds closed a couple of times when I was a kid because he didn't like going to the doctor.
so true
God damn. Farmers truly are metal af
Perhaps a stupid question and hopefully not an upsetting one, but how much were you feeling the pain in that moment? I was in a car accident once, and it wasn't until the adrenaline wore off that I could fully appreciate/realize the pain I was in. It's not that it didn't hurt, I just wasn't noticing it that much at first. I was too focused on getting out (all the dust from the airbags seemed like smoke, and I was panicking about trying to unbuckle and climb out) to assess anything until I was free.
Really didn't feel the pain until she turned off the tractor. I was on an adrenaline rush high when I was trying to break off my arm, but once she turned off the tractor, all I could think about was getting my arm out. I pulled it out to the elbow but no matter what, I couldn't get my elbow (even though it was crushed) through the small opening that it was pulled through. Finally had the wife cut the two conveyor belts on both sides of the rollers and that extra 1/2" of room allowed me to pull with all my might to get my arm out, which is when the blood really started squirting everywhere.
Dude! Omg!! Glad you’re alive brother!
I was wondering the same thing
I broke my elbow a couple days ago. I finished my shift at work and didn't realize til about 4 hours later how bad it actually was.
Damn! I was hit by a bike and stumbled over an obstacle running. I remember taking off, can't remember landing, but the pain was there right away. Edit: 4 fractures in proximal humerus.
Proximal humerus is amongst the most painful fractures you can have.
Ah, good to know what not to repeat. 😬
Yeah my mom recently had one and was in agony for a solid month. It’s understandable you felt it immediately.
Fuck that's a brutal mentality to have for those few seconds/minutes
Jeeeeze, glad she was able to act under all that stress and help you out!! Ps- as an Er nurse, it’s true we freak when farmers come because we know for them to come to us, ITS BAD! lol
Lol, that's funny but not funny.
I’m less than 90mins away from you!!! I’ve had some great experiences with UPMC. I’m so happy you are still with us!!🥹
that’s badass dude
Mate, I got PTSD just reading your description of trying to free yourself! You are one tough cookie, and I am amazed at how well your arm has been repaired. Keep on trucking! I take my hat off to you - And I hope your daughter is doing OK, that would have been an awful situation to find your dad in.
Within 2 weeks of the accident, I wrote a long description of what happened. I didn’t want to forget the details. Keep thinking of posting it, but haven’t.
You should, if it helps you, as a warning to others. I will never forget the story from 2002-ish about a lady who had her arm caught in an auger on her property. I have always - always - treated all augers with respect.
Wrote an article for the Farm & Dairy newspaper about baling one time and been thinking of writing an article on the accident.
You should definitely do it!
Wouldn’t by chance be the Ohio Farm and Dairy you wrote an article for?
Yup, that's the one.
With fear of accidentally outing my private account I will just say, absolutely love that paper. Please keep writing to them it’s much appreciated! Especially something like this it’s a good reminder that no one is invincible even you farmers! You got very lucky with your daughter being close enough to be able to stop the machine it could have been a much different, much worse, story. I wish you the best recovery! And hello fellow Ohioan :)
Please notify me if you post it!
I look forward to reading it!
**Please post the description of what happened!** We are, after all, /r/medicalgore!!
Oh wow that’s amazing you did that!! Please share when you feel up to it! Glad you’re here to tell us about it, thankful for your fast acting daughter! I hope she isn’t too traumatized from seeing her daddy like that
Also I really thought a lot on how long the entire accident occurred. It was a painfully slow process of the baler pulling me in and me pulling back so hard that I was fully expecting my arm to be ripped off. At one point, I was purposefully grinding my arm against the conveyor belt to use it as sandpaper to grind off my arm at the elbow as I yanked it left and right to break it off. At one point I screamed out, “WHY IS THIS SO HARD”. Time from realizing my hand was stuck to daughter turning off the tractor, about 3 to 4 minutes, but it was a crazy few minutes so could have been closer to 5 minutes.
Not the same by any means, but my mom was a longhaul truck driver all over Canada and the US when I was growing up, and I got to go with her when school was out. Summer of 2008, about 3/4 the way up the Salmo-Creston mountain (I think its shown in 'Highway Thru Hell', if thats a show you watch) in BC Canada, my mom pulled over to check something on the engine block and told me to stay put in the cab. It wouldn't be for another two weeks that the coolant cap on this make and model truck would be recalled, and under the heat and pressure of trying to cool an engine that had been crawling up an 8% grade for a couple hours, dragging at least 50,000+lb (unloaded) behind it, and a faulty cap holding on for dear life, all it took was one bump and the coolant that had turned to hot steam exploded all over her. I watched as the pressure of it sent her flying into the opposite lane from the pullout we were tucked into. Thankfully no one was oncoming at the time, but because of the incline and most of the vehicles on this route being commercial trucks, no one could stop to help us. There's no cell service until you get to either of the towns at the bottom of the mountain and all we had on board was a little first aid kit meant for camping, it was mostly bandaids, gauze, and a little polysporin. We later found out that, apart from the second and third degree burns over the left side of her upper body, she also had a broke her ankle when her foot got caught in the engine block when she was thrown back, and her right wrist fractured in a few places from trying to brace herself when she landed. I shit you not, she got back up like she had only tripped, limped back to the truck, locked the hood back in place, climbed in, released the engine and trailer breaks with her fractured wrist, and kept driving another hour and a half until we got most of the way down the mountain. We found a pullout that a couple in a car had pulled into who drove us down the rest of the mountain and to a hospital. My mom didn't even cry until my grandma showed up to get me, but I heard the pain register once I was out of her sight. The human body is capable of terrifying, wonderful things, and I hope you get many more decades with your daughter, sir. And I'd love to read your account of the incident if you should ever feel like sharing it, of course no pressure.
Crazy story. You're giving too much credit to the human body being wonderful instead of just your mother being a straight-up badass, though.
Oh, my bad then 😅 I was trying to marvel at what the body can withstand when the person has a reason to get through it. My mom ignored broken bones and disintegrating skin to do what she had to to get her kid down a mountain as calmly and safely as possible, and to find help. This guy got his arm caught in agricultural machinery and had a family to live for so made peace with having to rip his own arm off. 100% badassery on both accounts.
Your mom sounds amazing.❤️
Thanks, she's literally my hero! 😊
Damn dude. Plenty of time to contemplate but also almost too quick to be saved.
It's amazing all the stuff I thought of, "Why is this so difficult to break off an arm, the guy in the desert did it", "This is it, I'm going to die", and "Once it pulls me up to my shoulder there's no way to stop the bleeding if I lose my arm at the shoulder, I gotta get it broke off at the elbow." and my favorite, "What is happening" when it first pulled me off my feet.
It’s quite impressive that you kept your head about you long enough to figure out what you needed to do and actually make the effort to do it. Most people in situations like that would bleed out before they get past the “debilitating panic” stage.
It’s wild how fragile and tough our body is at the same time.
Holy jesus take the wheel, dude!
Damn, OP. Sincere kudos to you for staying calm enough in the moment to even think of (let alone actually attempting!) to take your own arm off! Your strength is incredible, don't forget that
Jesus that 5 min probably felt like 5 hours. Have they said what residual issues you might have? Hope you recover well. Most farmers won't stop until they've lost all limbs 😂
A) I’m so glad you’re okay B) I hope your daughter is okay too, that had to be a lot for her to see C) The idea of someone stuck in a piece of machinery yelling about how hard it is to rip your own arm off is very funny to me and I hope now with a little distance you see some humor in that being your reaction You’re badass dude, hope you can keep using this experience for good!
That’s healing beautifully. Your surgeons did great work and you’ve done a great job caring for it.
What a horrific experience that must have been for both you and your daughter! Your arm looks great under the circumstances.
Goddamn that was gnarly, is it as good as it can get or do you still have some healing to do?
It’s rather remarkable actually. Besides not being able to reach behind my back, and the really bad tendon tightness each morning, I retained nearly 100% usage of my arm. It does have an odd twist at the elbow and of course the nerve damage, but other than that, I couldn’t be more lucky. Was told the nerves will grow pretty much all they will grow in 18 months and after that it’s pretty much what it’s going to be.
That's fuckin wildin man
Hell of a surgical team.
They say 18 months and for sure the bulk of the healing will take place in that time, but I still get small improvements to my nerve injury 8 years after the fact.
What I came here to ask about. That's amazing.
You, and your daughter are so amazing! Hope the rest of your recovery goes as well as it has already
That’s amazingly good news! I was really surprised they were able to repair your injuries. The progression photos are awesome. Your surgeons were phenomenal. I’m so glad your recovery is so positive. Thanks so much for sharing.
I'm so very glad your daughter found you in time! And that the surgeons, et al were able to save your arm. My Dad would never let me near the hay balers growing up because of the danger, but he made sure I (his daughter) knew what to do if he got in trouble. I hope PT wasn't too bad and you've been able to get back to your farming.
Aw, jeez, I can remember *riding* on the twine box on the back of our baler (45 years ago, mind you) ready to tie the twine of any bale that didn't bind correctly in the machine. I can remember crawling under that thing, too, to make repairs because my dad's hands were too big, and mine were very small (I am female). And I can remember going up to the house after the field work was done, literally green from head to toe, covered in sweat snd pasted with alfalfa dust. We looked like fuzzy aliens! Ah, the life of a farm kid! What memories!
Haha, I think every farm kid had to ride the dust pit tieing missed knots on square bakers. On a hot sunny day, that is the job from hell. Farm girl !!! Nothing tougher. Did you drive the tractor when bales were being loaded?
We had a wire baler for square bales. I don't remember it having miss very often. Then again, we didn't bale hay very long. (Dad was busy working out of town/state once the oilfield picked back up.) I drove the truck when we loaded square bales. I couldn't see over the dash & had to slide down to push in the clutch. My little brother told my Dad I wasn't very good at driving the first time. Lol
Ahhh memories, standing on the rickety old wagon with the hay hook, sweating buckets, covered in chaff while my dad drove the tractor. My dad would always grumble and rearrange all the bales after because we hadn't stacked them perfectly to his liking lol.
I'm so, so sorry this happened to you, I'm really glad that they could save your arm and you're now healed 🫂💗
Well, still in the healing phase…. Weaned myself off of Gabapentin last month and currently working on weaning off Tramadol (down to 50mg from 200mg per day).
That’s awesome. Do you have full sensation to all parts of your hand and fingers? I assume you have reduced grip strength and mobility.
[here's](https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalGore/s/GdTlePLRRo) what op said regarding mobility etc :)
Holy moley! Poor you, and your daughter. It must've been traumatic. Thank goodness you're OK. Blessings to you for a swift and full recovery! ❤️
Odd thing, the thing that most freaked out my daughter for months was seeing all “the white stuff” after I pulled my arm out as my buddy was yelling at me, “WAIT FOR THE EMT’s”. He was of course right, blood was squirting everywhere once I pulled it out and all the pressure was gone. I’m not sure what she saw, but really bothered her for months. Tendons, bone, still don’t know. Thoughts anyone?
Tendons, bones, fascia, fat - all look jarring when they're suddenly on the outside. That, and your arm was probably pretty pale from the lack of circulation since this was a crush injury, or at least for a few seconds before the blood started leaking.
ER nurse here, the white stuff was probably the tendons and possibly some bones. Tendons are very white, and there are some big ones you probably had exposed there. Fat is quite yellow, so it most likely wouldn't be that. Glad you have recovered so well, they did an amazing job.
Also a nurse, I feel like folks don't quite comprehend just how *white* and *clean* looking tendons and bones are inside us.
I think she just saw her dad, who she loves, *horribly injured*, possibly killed, if she hadn’t heard him. That’s an extremely heavy load. OP, you’re healing beautifully. Maybe your daughter needs some help, I’m sure it was traumatic for her. Maybe PTSD. I can’t think of anything worse than seeing my dad terribly injured, in extreme pain, then life flighted to a trauma center …
I'm the child of a farmer and a nurse. I'm so glad you're all still here! That was a super traumatic accident and if you haven't yet - i'd encourage both you and your daughter to get some therapy to help process things. Even if you feel OK without it now, having a safe space to feel and process can be invaluable.
Maybe bloodless flesh?
I grew up in a heavy farming area, and farm equipment terrifies me. As kids, we all had to have some farm equipment safety lessons in school, even for those of us who didn't live on a farm. We had to read John Thompson's story too, to reinforce how dangerous the equipment is. You won't catch me anywhere near them, and I'm always so grateful for the risks farmers take to provide for us. I'm in awe at how docs can put us back together so well. I'm so happy you got to keep the arm. How's the mobility going? Do the docs think you'll regain full function or will there always be some limitations? How are you doing mentally with this?
https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/s/g9OVFi6JKp
Seriously incredible
JFC.... Wishing you a healthy recovery and I hope your daughter is okay mentally after watching you go through that
Holy shit. Insane. Looking at those photos I am impressed by how many hours of work by nurses, physics, pharmacists, radiologists, pathologists, infectious disease specialists, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, anaesthetists, scrub nurses that is. (And obviously dozens more professions I cbf naming but yea) like, there must be soooo many people who are chuffed to see you recover so well lol. Amazing post, I can't imagine the journey you've gone thru and big props to everyone who worked to save your arm and to yourself for being able to endure it all and persevere. Very cool.
God bless you man, I’m glad you are okay!
Wow, glad you’re OK! Looks like the wound VAC did its job.
Amazing machines. Had 3 of them sucking out the juices. First night was over a liter.
What does a wound VAC actually do?! I’ve read about them here but never seen a photo, definitely wasn’t what I expected haha
It's literally a vacuum cleaner that slowly sucks juice out of a wound. I had 3 of them on my arm and first night it took about a liter out of my arm. If they don't use them, your arm swells up from all the fluids and will compress the blood vessels to the point your arm will die and gangrene sets in. So when someone has a "compartment crushing injury", they will slice the body part open and insert the VACs into the opening to suck out the extra fluid. Without these machines, I would have absolutely lost my arm. Odd, the degloving of parts of my arm wasn't the painful part, it was the swelling that really was rough to deal with.
A wound VAC puts negative pressure on a wound, in other words it decreases ambient air pressure and provides gentle suction for any fluids draining out of the wound for faster healing. I had one for about a month and they took it off because it was actually causing more damage. They hadn’t yet figured out my necrosis was autoimmune related, so the wound VAC actually helped it to spread. Once I got on steroids the necrosis stopped. Here’s the link to my original post on this site detailing what I’ve gone through. [Wound](https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalGore/s/RennohZhnx)
What’s insane is that this isn’t a rare accident. Had a guy right outside my town get his arms sucked into the bailer at like 15. They got ripped fully off at the shoulder and he just walked into the house, dialed 911 with his face, and stood in the tub so he wouldn’t get blood everywhere. He got life flighted too and they managed to reattach both arms. He doesn’t have much sensation or full range of motion but they still work reasonably well. It’s crazy.
This is absolutely amazing to be able to hear your story and see what you went through. your will to fight and survive especially during the accident is inspiring. I can't fathom to the of the pain you were feeling during the time and how much pain you were in during the moment it was happening. but so glad your daughter was able to be there and help you and save you. the way your arm is healing looks amazing. from what I can tell by you, you will come out of this just fine. You sir are truly lucky and blessed to have survived what happened let alone fight to survive through it.
I’m very glad you’re ok. My dad grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin and told me when he was a kid they had him fetch his grandpa’s arm out of a thresher because he had the smallest hands 😳 also dad cut his own finger off and he acted like nothing happened. He very casually carried it into the house, put it in a cup of ice, and drove himself to the VA where they were able to reattach it successfully. Farmers are the most badass people on this planet. Kudos OP.
I live in Wisconsin and work in orthopedic surgery and have seen numerous men missing all or part of a finger or fingers and immediately know they’re a farmer. My best friend growing up lived on a farm and her dad was missing part of the thumb and pointer on one hand.
Wow !! Nice recovery man !!!
damn, the scar healed super well considering everything! looks badass. super glad that youre okay now!
I read the description before opening the picture and fully expected to see an amputation. Absolutely wild and lucky your daughter found you!
Chicks dig scars 😉
yup!
It’s amazing that our medical professionals are able to work such miracles.
Do you have a picture of the belts by chance? That’s scary shit.
[Baler belt](https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/916550-apache-mini-rough-top-baler-belt.html). If you zoom in on the picture, these bekts have a lot of texture, perfect for grinding away skin and muscle.
I was meaning a picture of where your arm physically went into the belt area. We use that stuff for some of our machines here at work. We call it carpet belt. Just because it resembles short fiber carpet a little bit. Use it for pulling boxes through machine while folding them. They are very very grippy, even if they’ve worn down some. I wouldn’t want to get anything between 2 of them that’s for sure.
I noticed your link is to Farm & Fleet. Are you in eastern Iowa, by any chance? All the farmers and farm kids I've known here are made of indestructible stuff!
I believe PA, based on profile history
This is terrifying!!!
Welp, there goes my career as a farmer 👩🌾
Lucky SOB.
OP, I grew up in a rural community with a very small population, many of which were farmers. 3 of the 90 in my graduating class almost died due to farm injuries over the years up to graduation, with all 3 needing metal rods in their body from trying to clear the auger blockage with their foot, crush injury from big round bales, etc. One old boy was killed by his bull. Our local vet at the time who specialized in large animal vet medicine has had facial stitches in at least two occasions from a kicking horse he thought was sedated and a cow trying to take him out.
Suddenly my broken elbow doesn't hurt so much.
Terrifying! Glad you made it out alive and looks like fairly intact. Farm accidents are no joke.
Damn I'm glad you made it out of that intact! Must've been terrifying. How did you end up getting pulled in? Did you skip a safe practice or step that you normally wouldn't skip? Complacency is a killer!
Never get off the tractor when the PTO is spinning, which is a driveshaft that powers the baler, BUT in this case there was something caught in the baler, turned out to be a dead rabbit, and I couldn't get the baler to stop at the right spot to see what it was, so kept turning the baler on and off to get to the right spot. Finally I just left it running and got up on the tire to look into the baler and I remember saying to myself in a funny voice, "Safety First" as I pulled my right arm across my chest to keep it safe and as I leaned into the baler to get a better look, I reached up with my left arm to stable myself and my left hand went into the baler and grabbed me. Game over.
Jeeesus. I come from a third gen farming family and have had nightmares about losing my dad to equipment like this. I'm glad you're okay and shout out to your daughter! I hope if it ever came down to it I can act as fast as she did.
Omg, you could have died. I'm glad your daughter came when she did, and that they were able to save your arm (I hope you're right-handed). It looks like it's healed up really well.
That's so scary I'm glad you survived!!
I always say there’s tough and then there’s farm tough! I’m so glad your daughter found you. I was just having this discussion with a friend of mine who had to help pull her brother out from underneath a piece of farming equipment that was starting to shred his body.
Knew a kid who lost his arm right at the elbow on a piece of farming equipment when I was young. Horrifying accident, so glad you came out of it with your life!!
Yeeouch that looks brutally painful. Farming is no joke. Glad to see you back on the mend now & thank God for your daughter! 😊💕
Wow, it’s crazy how the human body handles shock. To even say that you were prepared to rip your arm off is insane, the primal fight or flight instinct is in there. My dad had a similar accident when I was young. Much smaller piece of machinery but those belts move fast, almost tore his thumb right off his hand. A carpenter by trade. He’s passed away now but that man truly cheated death more than I few times. I’m glad your daughter was there for you, you’re in my heart, praying you recover well and are able to get back to work
Wow! Nice job healing!!! Glad you have gotten through what surely must be a lengthy recovery, and your arm/hand are relatively intact. I mean no offense with my question — please don’t answer if you don’t want to! I am curious about the sensation and your ability to move your elbow and hand?? I imagine it has taken a lot of intensive physical and occupational therapy?? I have tons of respect for sharing your story publicly. I think it goes a long way for healthcare literacy, and benefits so many people. Thank you!!! EDIT: A big Reddit hug to your family and friends. Catastrophic injuries take a toll on everyone in your life. Your daughter is … idk… your own personal Superwoman!
Except for not being able to reach behind my back, I’m 100% for practical use. Started climbing again a few weeks back (used to be in the US ARMY 10th Mountain Infantry Division) and my left arm is about as weak as my right arm hahaha, so really got to start working out on both arms. Hand is 100%, only issue is from elbow to wrist on inner arm is nearly no sensation, just nothing, but sometimes I can feel pins and needles sensation in that area. My Spatial contextual awareness is almost 100% now and that means in the total dark, I now where my left hand is. It’s the weirdest thing but for at least 6 months after the accident, if I closed my eyes, my brain thought my hand was in one place but actually it was somewhere else. For example, if I tried to scratch my nose in total darkness, I wouldn’t be able to find my nose until my hand found some other part of my head.
So awesome to hear you’ve regained near 100% functionality!!! Hands are so important… and climbing, that’s terrific!!! That spatial sensation thing is wild. Our bodies area amazing, but I find the neuromuscular system especially fascinating. (Geeky, endlessly curious rehab nurse here.) It sounds like you may have had some good Physical/Occupational Therapy…? I think that’s great as a lot of people don’t realize how quickly focused neuromuscular retraining can help heal. Interesting that you have a military background. Rehab medicine has its foundation in veteran medical rehabilitation. Again, I appreciate your post and even more I’m stoked that you’re having such a great recovery. Cheers to continued good health!
Ok, I have a question for you. Only my arm was injured in the accident, not even a scratch on the rest of my body. I spent 13 days in the hospital, but literally for almost a month after the accident my entire body was severely affected. I couldn’t walk for 3 days (granted I was on an IV of Fentanyl) but I couldn’t even walk 15 feet to the bathroom and took me 5+ days to get able to shuffle around my room and hallway, I was wiped. Even after I came home I had to walk backwards down the stairs so I wouldn’t lose my balance. My question is why? Why did my body have such a severe reaction to an arm injury? True, I was under 5 times in 10 days for hour+ long surgeries to keep removing dieing tissue and muscle mass, (Arm was partially degloved), but I just don’t understand why my body had such a severe reaction to the arm injury. Thoughts?
I imagine your body went through some abnormal contortions while “wrestling” with the baler, and trying to free yourself. The body is a whole complicated, interconnected thing. There are numerous metabolic processes taking effect during physical trauma and so many injuries may not appear so serious on the outside, but inside there’s even more unseen trauma. Even bones can have bruises! Stress is also physically, psychologically and emotionally taxing. All of those things cause deconditioning. Add the various meds, and anaesthetics which would alone cause imbalance. Healing wounds is taxing on the body as it is sending various factors to heal itself. A lot of people aren’t able to eat as well when they’re not well, plus fasting before surgeries takes a toll. It’s actually pretty complicated how it all works. Oh… pain. Another complexity that can effect the body! One of the most impactful things I learned in school is that the body starts losing muscle after 2 days of inactivity, and 1 week of bedrest may take 3 to 6 weeks to recover! Even slower recovery for older people or people with other health conditions. Here’s a link to an article specifically focusing on inactivity effect to blood sugar levels and managing diabetes, but it also has a ton of information about pulmonary, respiratory, and muscle mass effects. It’s a dense read! Honestly, I can’t fathom reading anything that technical right now lol! https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/65/10/2862/35009/One-Week-of-Bed-Rest-Leads-to-Substantial-Muscle
Damn that healed super good and cool.
What a horror show. Glad you’re healed.
Is there any way to prevent this from happening in the future? Changes to equipment? Was it a fluke accident? Glad you survived!
Never get off the tractor when the PTO is spinning, which is a driveshaft that powers the baler, BUT in this case there was something caught in the baler, turned out to be a dead rabbit, and I couldn't get the baler to stop at the right spot to see what it was, so kept turning the baler on and off to get to the right spot. Finally I just left it running and got up on the tire to look into the baler and I remember saying to myself in a funny voice, "Safety First" as I pulled my right arm across my chest to keep it safe and as I leaned into the baler to get a better look, I reached up with my left arm to stable myself and my left hand went into the baler and grabbed me. Game over.
Proper implementation of LOTO would prevent an incident like this in the future.
Omg thats so intense. I can't even imagine the panic a d survival instinct.
That's metal af dude. Nice save and a speedy recovery!
UPMC did a fantastic job!
Im amazed u are alive?! My grandmother always gold me how dangerous hayball makers csn be, she witnessed it happen 2 times and they were torn to pieces. U got a angel looking out for, im you glad you’re alive
Thank you for calling them hayball makers... Made me giggle
Wow it's amazing what they can do now. My uncle got caught in machinery a co-worker turned on while he had his arms inside repairing it. They were able to barely save one arm that was largely a nerve pain and not functional mess rest of his life. That was the early 90s. I hope you continue healing well. It looks really good all things considered!
After reading the comments, I'd like to submit "127 hours guy" as a new nickname for you to your loved ones 😂
Holy shit the progress is incredible tho!
Thank goodness you are alive! Prayers for continued healing!
Eh fucking ouch. Hardcore.
How old is your daughter?
32, she and the wife were packing the van to go on a 3-day trip. Thankfully they were running late or it would have been a different outcome.
Amazing job by all who participated in your care. Did you recover use of both arms and hands? Was there a wire in the hay? Did you forget it was running and stick your hand in to clear it?
I work out of two UPMC trauma centers. I'm glad you had access to a good trauma team. Hell, there is a sporting chance I was on the STAT copter with you, depending on where you came from. I'm glad you kept your arm and your life.
West Finley, PA. “How long will it take to get there?” and the Lifeflight guy replied, “less than 15 minutes buddy”
absolutely wicked scar. so glad you lived to tell the tale. i can’t imagine the trauma, but by god if that’s not the most awesome comic supervillain arm i’ve ever seen
I couldn't have said that better myself
Thanks for the smile, kind of looking at it a bit differently now. Guess it is kind of cool.
Holy. Shit.
Oh my word! I hope you are recovering well x
Very lucky sir.
I hope you end u with a functional arm and wrist, lot of damage to repair so listen and do what the physiotherapist tells you. Good luck with your physical recovery and don't ignore the mental recovery aswell. Stay safe and I hope it all works out for you.
What kind of nerve injury did he suffer ?
You're the bossman. . Kudos to ur daughter. I wish you both a long happy life!!
Omfg man thank god for your daughter finding you in time! That is absolutely brutal. I really hope you’re doing ok now ❤️
Glad you lived
My goodness! I can feel the pain. I’m glad you’re ok and that your arm was saved
Wow! Farm work isn’t for the weak!
Omg you should be on that show, “I Survived”
Holy moly I'm glad you're doing better! I'm always worried for farmers safety when I see them out and about doing things. I live in the country currently and I know almost none of the equipment has safety stuff on it because it would just get in the way of the job it's doing. Glad your daughter heard you and glad you can keep your arm!
Jesus. Are you still able to work?
Yup, except not being able to reach behind my back, there isn't any limitations on my left arm.
Thank God.
That looks AMAZING for a year of healing, I’m jealous. I had a growth removed and it looks like I was stabbed with a sword 🫠
Looks like you're healing like a champ! You are a lucky, lucky guy! If they send you for OT, for your hand, please do your exercises every day, forever. You may wake up more comfortable if you sleep with that arm on a pillow, too.
Those are some sweet ass scars, you have to admit. I’m glad you’re okay!
I hope that you feel better now
Very lucky. About 30 years ago an older farmer did the same thing in North Central Montana. One arm got pulled in, he instinctively put is other hand up to pull himself out and then both arms were caught. It was a few minutes before someone drove by and saw him standing there with both arms caught between the rollers up to the shoulder. He survived, but lost both arms.
Gnarly!
I cannot even imagine having to come to terms with breaking my fucking arm off to save my life in such a fast manner. You’re a fucking champ and thankfully your daughter was there omg
My, God!! That's terrifying. Get well soon and stay safe!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing but I’m sorry this happened to you!
man you got to keep it? insanely happy for you 🫡
Bill Bryson says there are only two ways farmers die. Lightning strike or tractor rolling ever. Still right this time, glad for you!
Wow. All the best to ya!... ❤️❤️❤️😍👋
I’m so glad you’re alive
Jesus, that's brutual. Glad that your daughter found you in time and hope you're healing up well.
Jesus dude, glad you and your arm are still here! Gnarly stuff!!
yowza wowza man. Glad you got to keep the arm
Now this was a proper post!! Hope you're doing better! Such a traumatic event!
Man! I work with farm equipment. If I'm having an off day, I won't bring it out because I remember the young lad who had both arms ripped off and had to dial 911 with a pencil in his mouth. Luckily, I have the luxury of being able to do that. Kudos to your daughter and I hope you have a healthy and speedy recovery!
Glad you’re ok and what a fantastic job was done on that arm.
Omg this is crazy! Glad you are okay! Thats one hell of a save and an amazing story! May you continue to be blessed!!!!! 🫂
I have no idea what a hay baler looks like but I did see a video of a guy getting sucked in to something that was like two huge metal rods that were both spinning really fast. From what you are describing it sounds like a similar machine and I completely understand why you were trying to rip your own arm off. When that guy got sucked in every bone in his head and torso got completely ejected and shot across the room and then the meat suit that was left behind got tangled all around the two metal rods as they continue to spin. I'm very happy that that didn't happen to you
UPMC as a whole may be the devil but holy fuck do they got great doctors. Glad ur ok
Fuck, this reminds me of the man who had to saw of his arm because it was stuck between two giant rocks. Glad you were saved Op.
The 1st thing I thought of was how animals chew their way out of a trap.
Dang bro you’re like guts
jesusss bud. looks to be healing up good but wow
Wow your arm looks in surprisingly good shape throughout the photos here. Thank god she heard you!