REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Nebraska farmer hacks off leg with pocket knife to save his life after getting stuck in grain auger

Kaser was desperate for help with no one else in sight, he then suddenly remembered he had a pocket knife
PUBLISHED MAY 15, 2019

A Nebraska farmer was getting by his day trying to transfer corn from one place to another when he found his leg stuck in a hole, which turned out to be a grain auger. As the machine began pulling his leg into it, 63-year-old Kurtis Kaser knew he had to act quickly if he wanted to live.

Kaser was desperate for help with no one else in sight, he then suddenly remembered that he had a pocket knife and made an instant decision to cut a portion of his leg. The incident reportedly occurred three and a half weeks ago.

Kaser's leg accidentally stuck in a grain auger which began to pull him in. (Getty Images)

"I didn't know what to do and I didn't know how long I would keep my consciousness either, I about gave up but then I remembered I had my pocket knife," Kaser told CNN. "I didn't have a phone on me, I didn't know where it had gone, so I just started cutting with the knife. I knew I was done cutting because I felt a funny feeling, maybe it was a tendon I cut."

The farmer, after severing his leg, then went on to crawl towards his house with the help of his elbows in an effort to make a phone call for medical help. "I stopped for a little bit but I didn't want to stop for long in case I passed out, there was no way for me to get help, everyone was gone at the time, I just did what I had to do and they (first responders) got me in a helicopter," he told the outlet. The 63-year-old was rushed to the Bryan Medical Center.

The Nebraska farmer will soon be fitted for a prosthetic leg. (Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals/Facebook)

Kaser's wife, Lori, said she was nearly 45 minutes away from home when the incident occurred and by the time she reached the house, the first responders were flying him away. "I am just glad he's here with us," she said.

The farmer said these kinds of accidents happen all the time. Recalling an incident when he was a sixth grader, he said his leg had got stuck in a tractor at the time but only his skin suffered in the accident. "We're kind of used to this around here," he said.

Although he doesn't remember how long his ordeal lasted, when he returned home on Friday from the rehabilitation hospital, he was shocked to see how far he had crawled with a severed, bleeding leg. "Everyone asks me why I am so calm about the situation and the truth is, when I was in Madonna (the rehabilitation hospital), I saw so many people who will probably never be able to walk again and I know I will be able to walk mildly normal, I'm fortunate," Kaser said.

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW