John O’Neill.
Photo: Go Fund me
On September 23, 33-year-old John O’Neill started a new job in Longmont, Colorado. It was supposed to be a starting point after a troubled time.
He finished rehab, was sober and had his own home. However, John still had an electronic wheel that would prove fatal.
A quarter of an hour into his first day at work, John was involved in a terrible accident.
“I cried for help”
His first job was feeding tree branches into a wood chipper. When John pushed in a bent branch, he spun around, grabbed the leg shackles and began to pull John to the machine.
– I shouted for help, but because all my colleagues had hearing protection, it took a while before they saw what was happening, said John.
The 33-year-old man felt that the blades of the machine were reaching his legs, feet and knees and he tried to hold on to the edge of the machine.
– It went very quickly from fighting to save my legs to fighting for my life, said John.
When the colleagues managed to get John out of the chipper, he looked down at what used to be his leg.
– It was like something you see in movies, says John.
“my heart stopped”
He almost died in the helicopter ambulance on the way to the hospital.
– My heart stopped. Basically they had to replace all the blood in my body, says John.
When he woke up in hospital, he felt “excruciating” pain.
– At first I thought that my legs were broken. It took a while before I remembered what happened, said John.
When John looked down he saw that both of his legs were gone.
A fundraiser has been started to help John with the costs of adapting the home to his new needs. He looks forward to getting prosthetics and entering what he calls “uncharted territory” in the future.
– He feels that life will be more interesting now. I have always liked a challenge, says Iain.
2024-10-09 21:58:00
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