Farmhand crushed by 600kg bale in flooding
With a water-logged 600-kilogram hay bale crushing his once strong farming body, Dan had to fight for his life.
He had been sheltering from the heavy rain that flooded much of the Canterbury region late last month, waiting for his boss to finish a phone call before they took the feed wagon out to the cows.
He suddenly saw hay bales falling around him and shouted to his boss to move, but his choice to run forwards rather than sideways almost cost him his life.
The Westpac rescue helicopter crew was in the process of getting Dan on the chopper to fly him to Christchurch Hospital when his partner arrived. She had initially been told by text that he had only a broken leg, so she was shocked to see the extent of her childhood sweetheart’s injuries.
She was able to speak to him for about five minutes when he arrived at hospital, then he was placed into an induced coma for two weeks. Following six hours of surgery, Dan’s partner, who did not want to be named, was told just how broken he was. His injuries included a broken pelvis that had separated from his spine, a spiral fracture to the right femur, kidney and liver damage, and a broken nose. Dan had to have a stent place in his right leg to ensure blood flow. Six days after the incident, his injuries were still so bad that his partner was told by doctors to ‘‘gather the family together’’ as he was not expected to make it through the night.
He underwent surgery two days later after doctors detected blood and large stomach ulcers. A 50-centimetre chunk of bowel had died because of a haematoma.
The emergency surgery saved his life but he has a long road to recovery, with his partner expecting him to be in hospital for six months. Fluid on his lungs has kept Dan from getting the pelvis surgery he needs but his partner is hopeful it will happen before the end of the week. He may also end up losing his left leg. He was able to nod for the first time yesterday and wiggle his right toes but was still heavily sedated.
For his partner, life has changed too. She has been at Dan’s side every day since the accident. She is resigned to the fact he may never work on the Mid-Canterbury dairy farm again and their dream of a lifestyle block may now be out of reach. Dan’s niece has set up a Givealittle page which has raised $1300 so far.