Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking, but for John O’Neill, his first day quickly turned into a nightmare that almost cost him his life. Despite a life-changing accident that saw him lose both legs, John survived by what he describes as a “miracle.”
At 33, John had turned his life around. He had recently gotten sober, secured a new home, and found a job he enjoyed working with trees. However, just 15 minutes into his first day, tragedy struck. While operating a wood chipper, a hook-shaped branch got caught in the machine, and by a terrible stroke of fate, it became entangled with the ankle monitor bracelet he was wearing due to a court order.
In a horrifying moment, the branch pulled John into the chipper feet first. The powerful blades sliced through his boots, feet, ankles, and up to his knees before his coworkers noticed the horrific incident.
John later recalled the accident, telling the Denver Post: “I was yelling for help, but everyone had ear protection on. It took a minute before my coworkers realized what was happening.”
By the time they managed to stop the machine, the blades had reached his thighs. The sight of his legs was like something “out of a movie,” John said, as he tried to stay calm and even assisted a coworker in applying a tourniquet.
When John woke up in the hospital the next day, the reality of his injuries hit him. “I was in an excruciating amount of pain… I felt my legs were broken,” he remembered. But there were no legs left.
Thanks to his quick thinking, his coworkers’ help, and the medical staff’s efforts, John survived the ordeal. Now, he is determined to get prosthetics and return to volunteering, helping others struggling with addiction—a mission close to his heart.
“I’m setting goals to get back to where I was, and I won’t let anyone tell me it’s impossible,” John said, proving that his resilience and determination remain stronger than ever.