A young man who survived the terrible ordeal of being chopped in half by a forklift begged doctors to save him even if he was left with just a head.
In September 2019, Loren Schauers, now 21, was driving a forklift across a bridge in the US when it veered off and plummeted 50ft to the ground.
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Schauers was pinned to the ground beneath the four-tonne vehicle, leaving him with life-changing injuries.
The builder lost three limbs as a result of the accident as medics made the brave decision to perform hemicorporectomy surgery - where everything below his waist was amputated - to save his life.
Schauers at one point begged doctors to save his life, even if he was left with just a head.
Over three years on from the tragic accident, Schauers lives without legs and his right forearm, and is cared for by his wife Sabia Reiche.
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Reiche has opened up on the moment doctors told the family Schauers would be going through major surgery that would see him have everything amputated from the waist down in order to survive.
"We were all like super shocked and none of us knew how to react and none of us knew how Loren would react because he’s an 18-year-old guy living life to the full," she said.
"And so there were fears in our heads that he wouldn’t want this surgery or would rather die than lose half of his body.
"But his sister really fought hard to let him make that decision."
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Schauers' mum had power of attorney before the operation, according to Reiche, which meant she had a very tricky decision to make.
"She didn’t know whether to have the surgery done and for him to wake up and hate her for it, or not have the surgery done and he die and her feel like she killed her son," Reiche added.
They did decide to eventually go through with the surgery, and as Schauers came round, it truly was the right decision, as he was determined to survive the horrific ordeal.
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"I knew he wasn’t going anywhere because he looked them dead in the eye and told them he didn’t care if he was just a head on a plate, they’re going to do the surgery and they’re going to keep him alive," Reiche said.
"That really brought a lot of hope for us, that he was a fighter, but we already knew that because he was still alive."
Featured Image Credit: SWNS/@loren.schauers/Instagram