Man Suffers 60% Blood Loss In Horrific Chainsaw Accident
A father-of-three from Preston nearly died after suffering 60% blood loss in a chainsaw accident in his garden.
39-year-old Robert Gardner was chopping logs in his garden when the chainsaw he was using bounced back and struck him in the chest. He suffered catastrophic injuries when the chainsaw got caught in his T-shirt.
Mr Gardener only survived due to a blood transfusion at the scene by emergency workers from the Air Ambulance after losing around three litres of blood.
The 39-year-old plumber from Farington Moss, Preston, was clearing logs in his garden in preparation for a family party. He said: "I feel like a very lucky man. It hit me in the chest and I had to fight to get it off me." His wife, Karen, phoned 999 while attempting to stop the bleeding by holding a dustsheet on the wound.
Mr Gardner said: "There was just blood, flowing out everywhere. I was quite conscious and calm, the adrenaline was kicking-in, but at the same time, we both knew it was serious. "We told each other we loved each other."
Doctors said that the blood transfusion given by the Air Ambulance paramedics gave him the extra time he needed to get to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Dr Eimhear Quinn, who treated him at the scene, said without the on-scene blood transfusions he would have almost certainly died on the way to hospital. Dr Quinn said: "I estimate Rob lost three plus litres of blood.
"An adult male has about five litres of blood, so Rob had lost approximately 60% of his circulating volume before we arrived.
"Without a blood transfusion he wouldn't have survived the ambulance journey."
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