21-Year-Old Tree Cutter Survives After Chain Saw Gets Stuck In His Neck During Freak Accident
April 2 2014, Published 6:27 p.m. ET
Miracle is an understatement.
James Valentine, 21, is a tree cutter in Penn. who was left with a chain saw lodged in his neck after he slipped and fell — and he survived.
A shocking x-ray of the man's injuries from the Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh plainly show the chain saw blade embedded in his neck.
The freak accident happened on Monday while Valentine was suspended in a harness in a tree, and doctors say he was lucky because the blade missed all major arteries, instead cutting into his muscle.
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"I remember everything that happened from the time it happened till we got to the hospital," Valentine told the press.
"Horrible, the worst pain I've ever thought of," he said of the injury.
"As soon as I got down out of the tree and sat down, just seeing the blood squirting out, it was crazy. That was the scariest part. I knew I had to keep calm and stay awake. Keep in control."
The hospital released Valentine's x-ray on Tuesday after it was clear he would survive and be fine.
Paramedics were able to take the motor off the chainsaw at the scene of the accident, but were careful to leave the blade and the chain in his neck until he was transported to the hospital.
Valentine is thankful for the quick thinking on behalf of his co-workers, who helped save his life.
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