Marine Andrew Linn Survives Impalement

Andrew Linn, a former Marine, was impaled by a fence pole last year, and survived.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on May 12 2011

Andrew Linn is no stranger to accidents: As a U.S. Marine, he survived near-misses with roadside bombs and explosive devices in Iraq. After returning home, he was hit by a car being driven by a drunk driver. But last Thanksgiving, he cheated death yet again in a far more dramatic fashion.

While visiting his parents in Las Vegas, he accidentally veered off the road while driving, and ran into a chain-link fence. One of the fence’s poles penetrated the car’s windshield, and rammed straight into Linn’s mouth, breaking his teeth, then going through the side of his neck.

It was a grisly accident, but remarkably, the pole avoided Linn’s spine and major veins and arteries. In fact, he even remained conscious after the incident: Although he couldn’t speak, he got out his phone to try to send a text message to firefighters who rescued him from the scene of the accident.

Getting the pole out of Linn’s body was another major obstacle. “The minute you pull this pipe out, all hell could break loose, and he could start bleeding profusely,” Linn’s doctor, Dr. Jay Coates, told the TODAY Show. “That was really the concern, of whether he was going to have permanent injuries from lack of blood flow to his brain.’’

However, Linn got lucky again, pulling through the delicate surgery with no major bleeding. “People who are in accidents like this go to the morgue, not the emergency room,” Dr. Jeff Moxley, his surgeon, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s just a miracle he lived.”

Linn, who doesn’t remember the accident, is now on the road to recovery. He’ll need an artificial plate and dental implants to replace his broken teeth, but is otherwise in good health, and grateful for the second chance.

“I’m so thankful for this second to chance to enjoy my family, my friends and everyone,’’ Linn told NBC News. “I’m just a lucky guy who had some unbelievably great doctors. I didn’t do anything miraculous: They did.’’

Check out the video from the TODAY Show.

Filed under: Health and Wellbeing, Weird,

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