The teen who was mangled inside muck-spreader and survived
Published: June 12, 2006
It’s an astonishing story of survival that beggars belief.
Trapped in farm machinery, with razor-sharp blades piercing his body and his mangled arm almost severed from his shoulder, no one thought Jonathan Welsh would make it.
But the Co Antrim teenager defied all the odds to prove them wrong.
Jonathan (16), from Carrickfergus, spent an hour-and-a-half trapped inside a muck-spreader at his granny’s farm.
And for the first 10 minutes, the spreader was still going, churning his body from one side of the machine to the other. All the time, the sharp blades were rotating, slashing his skin and gouging out huge holes in his back and arm.
His devoted mum, Mary, said it was a miracle he survived.
“When I was told of the accident and rushed to the field, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
“There were dozens of police, paramedics and fire crews.
“They weren’t going to allow me so see him, but I heard him crying out, ‘Mum, is that you? Is that you?’
“I shouted out, ‘Yes son. I’m coming now’ and the police let me go over to him. It was a living nightmare.
“His body was lying backwards over the roller of the muck-spreader, with his head almost touching the floor of the machine and his feet hanging over above the ground.
“He was half in and half out, in a kind of crab’s bend position.
“There was blood everywhere; his arm was attached to his shoulder by only a short stretch of skin.
“His upper arm was completely mangled; I could see that chunks of flesh were missing and bones had been smashed.
“Jonathan’s head had swollen to such a size that it was the same width as his shoulders. It looked like it had been blown up with a bicycle pump.
“I was sure he was going to die.”
And when the full extent of his injuries was revealed, it was easy to understand why the prognosis wasn’t good.
He also suffered two punctured lungs and his throat was sliced by one of the rotating blades.
Every single rib in his body was broken and a section of his shoulder has been ripped away.
Part of his head was scalped and his left ear was pierced by a blade and partially torn off. The lower part of his smashed arm was broken in three places and his right arm was broken in two places.
A gaping hole was gouged into his back.
Jonathan had to have 95 staples inserted in his right leg, where an artery was removed to help repair his damaged arm.
It was also discovered that a living dung-mite have became embedded somewhere in his body.
Specialised antibiotics from England has to be administered twice a day for two weeks - at a cost of £800 per treatment.
Said Mary: “Now that he’s home, and I think back on all the terrible things he suffered, I find it hard to believe he really has survived.
“It has to be down to his own determination and the brilliant care he has been given by medical staff.
“We’re so lucky to have him with us today.”
Jonathan recalls terrifying ordeal
Jonathan’s horrific ordeal began on a cold spring afternoon, when he went to help out on his granny’s farm.
It was Thursday, March 23, and he pulled on a warm fleece to protect him from the biting wind.
He was well used to working with agricultural machinery.
But nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.
“I’d finished spreading dung on the field and went back to the spreader to make sure it was empty,” recalled the brave schoolboy.
“I noticed a bit of silage hanging over the edge and started to pull it away.
“But my fleece was really big and baggy and suddenly a gust of wind caught the sleeve and it got sucked into the machine, which was still switched on.”
The rotating roller began to drag Jonathan’s upper arm into the machinery and he suddenly passed out.
It was not until a pal, David Hamilton, arrived 10 minutes later that he woke up, to find himself coiled around the mechanism.
It took fire crews almost 90 minutes to cut him free from the spreader.
His injures were so serious, he had to be airlifted by police helicopter to Antrim area hospital - a journey his mum said helped save his life.
Jonathan underwent a total of 18 hours’ surgery at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital. He spent six weeks there, including 16 days in intensive care.
In spite of his ordeal and the pain and suffering he continues to endure, Jonathan has no time for self-pity.
He’s more concerned about thanking all those whose skill and expertise have kept him alive.
“I want everyone to know how grateful I am,” said the Carrickfergus College student.
“This includes all my family and friends, the police and the helicopter crew, the paramedics and Fire Service and anyone else who has helped me since the accident.
“They’ve all been really good to me,” he said.
It’s too early yet to say how much movement Jonathan will get back into his shattered arm.
But he’s realistic about the future.
“I wanted to be a motor mechanic or a diesel fitter, but I don’t think that will happen now.
“I love motorbikes and, maybe, one day I’ll be able to ride them.
But he has a more pressing request, which typifies his spirited attitude.
“I’m going to ask the police if they’ll take me back up in their helicopter.
“I’d love to have a look out of the windows this time - and stay awake for the whole journey,” he added.
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