West Hartford Man Details Decision To Cut Off His Arm
Doctors Say Jonathan Metz Saved His Own Life
By WNPR Staff
Published: Jun 15, 2010
Slideshow
Jonathan Metz speaks at a press conference at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
Photo:Chion Wolf
Jonathan Metz speaks at a press conference at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
Photo:Chion Wolf
Jonathan Metz speaks at a press conference at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
Photo:Chion Wolf
Jonathan Metz speaks at a press conference at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
Photo:Chion Wolf
Jonathan Metz says the ordeal of getting his arm trapped in his furnace and deciding to cut it off was "surreal.''
The 31-year-old West Hartford man met with the media Tuesday for the first time since getting his arm stuck in his furnace and cutting off most of the limb using saw blades from his toolbox.
Metz's left arm got stuck in his basement furnace while he was working on it last Monday night. He was rescued two days later when worried co-workers went to his home and called police.
Metz says he started thinking about amputating his arm 12 hours into his ordeal, and it took him about six hours to "psych'' himself up to do it. He explained what made him make such a painful decision.
"But what put me over the top throughout this whole thing was thinking about family, fiance, friends, my dog. And just feeling like I had a lot of living to do."
Paramedics completed the amputation and doctors will be replacing it with a prosthetic in about a month.
For WNPR, I'm Lucy Nalpathanchil.
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What put me over the top throughout this whole thing was thinking about family, fiance, friends, my dog. And just feeling like I had a lot of living to do.
-Jonathan Metz
Comments
live amputation
One of my friends from nighthawk radiology told about a guy who amputated his leg on his own and he managed to stay awake despite of the huge pain. It is an amazing story just like the one we have here.
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