I scooped up my bowels after falling onto a saw then drove myself to hospital with them wrapped in a T-shirt
A RETIRED construction worker “picked up his guts” after falling on a circular saw – and then drove himself to hospital wrapped in a T-shirt.
Brendan Clancy was cutting pallets in his garden when he tripped over the 9-inch blade, slashing his stomach.
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Even though his insides were pouring out, he calmly packed her into an old canopy and made the 10-mile trek to the emergency room.
When he arrived, shocked paramedics called for extra help – and called a rescue helicopter to fly him for specialist treatment.
Father-of-five Brendan has since made a full recovery and has suffered no permanent injuries apart from a 30cm scar.
The 67-year-old said: “I had a 4ft stack of pallets that I was cutting through and somehow I lost my grip and fell on the saw.”
“At first I fell on the back of the saw and thought, ‘This is going to hurt.’
“But then I felt something tingling and realized my intestines were coming out.
“I could not believe it. They kept coming out and it seemed like it would never stop.”
Brendan found a bucket lying on the floor nearby, but decided it was too dirty to store his organs in.
Instead, he went back into the house, grabbed a T-shirt and fashioned a makeshift stretcher out of it.
“I must have been under adrenaline,” he said.
“I knew I needed help, but I also knew I couldn’t wait for help to come.”
He then traveled to Ystradgynlais Community Hospital in Swansea.
Brendan, from Upper Cwmtwrch, said: “My wife Jayne was in Carmarthen and my phone was in my bag with my insides spilling out so I drove myself.”
“I made sure to keep my senses while driving and concentrate on the road.”
“I have a manual car and my whole heart was on the side of the stick, but it helped take my mind off it.”
“When you carry your intestines, all you think about is keeping them all in one place.”
I felt something tingling and realized my intestines were coming out.
Brendan Clancy
Despite cutting about 10cm of his intestines, Brendan said there was no blood.
However, he had another nasty surprise.
“I could see my breakfast,” he said.
“When I got to the hospital two ladies came out and said they were about to close.
“They looked down and saw my intestinal pouch and intestines sticking out and called an ambulance.
“It was only when I was put on a trolley that I felt the pain.”
Brendan was then flown 50 miles by ambulance to a hospital in Cardiff where he underwent a four-hour operation.
He said: “It was painful getting from the trolley onto the stretcher but the crew were excellent and very reassuring.”
“They relieved my pain and I remember the trees turning pink and the clouds not looking right.”
“One of the paramedics kept holding his thumb up to me and I did the same with my back.”
“Within 15 minutes we were at the University Hospital of Wales.”
“Pain rush”
Brendan would now like to thank the charity Wales Air Ambulance and help raise the £11.2 million it relies on each year to keep its four helicopters running.
He said, “I couldn’t blame them; they were all absolutely fantastic.”
“I have lived all over the world and in my opinion there is no other ministry in this world that could be better.”
“I appreciate how incredibly lucky I am to be alive and how lucky we are to have such a great ministry in this country.”
“I would like to thank everyone who helped me on the day of my accident.”
Professor David Lockey, director of Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service Cymru, was the intensive care consultant who looked after Brendan, alongside intensive care physician Tom Archer.
He said: “It’s good to hear he’s recovered so quickly.”
“It is important to recognize the role of our colleagues at Ystradgynlais Community Hospital in this positive outcome, along with clinicians from the University of Wales, Cardiff.”
“Despite the positive outcome in this case, we would still advise anyone in an emergency situation to call 999 straight away.
“It also serves as a reminder to everyone to be careful with power tools.”