When he was just 18 years old, Loren Schauers' life would change forever when he got caught in a horrific accident.
In September 2019, the teenager was working as a labourer in the US state of Montana and had been driving a forklift across a bridge when the piece of equipment veered off course and plummeted 50 feet to the ground.
Miraculously, Loren was able to survive the accident; however, his life was changed forever as the four-tonne piece of machinery crushed his body after it landed on top of him.
The weight of the heavy machinery had crushed Loren's right arm and pelvis, meaning he was left in agony as coworkers scrambled to work out how to move the forklift.
Advert
After the accident, Loren was rushed to hospital and was told that to live, he would need the lower half of his body amputated.
What surgery did Loren Schauers have?
While in hospital, Loren underwent extreme form of surgery to remove the entire lower half of his body.
Called a hemicorporectomy, the operation involves removing everything below a person's lumbar spine, including legs, genitalia and anus.
As well as the hemicorporectomy, Loren was also required to have his lower right arm amputated due to extreme crush damage.
According to the now 24-year-old, he remembered looking at his body in the moments after the accident to see that his right arm had 'exploded' and the lower half of his body was crushed.
“It wasn’t a hard choice to have half my body amputated – it was basically a choice of living or dying," he previously said of the surgery.
Loren Schauers' crash photo
As well as speaking out about the life-changing accident, Schauers has also shared a photo taken in the aftermath of the crash.
In a post on Instagram, the content creator posted an image of the forklift on its side on a steep hill.
Revealing that he was underneath the piece of machinery at the time the image was taken, Schauers wrote: "If you look closely in the second photo, you can see me still pinned under the forklift. Last photo is exactly what type it was I’m sure of."
He's also revealed that he was conscious in the moments after the fall, recalling how he'd been helpless to watch was the forklift fell on top of him.
"I was conscious throughout everything, so I actually watched as the forklift fell on top of me and crushed my body," Loren said.
What has Loren Schauers since said about the crash?
Loren and his wife Sabia have spent the past couple of years sharing their life through social media.
Five years on from the accident, the couple said they are doing 'great' and gave a small tour of their new house.
Meanwhile, in a recent YouTube Q&A, Loren revealed which Hollywood actor he'd love to see play himself if his story was ever made into a biopic.
"I don't know someone like Tom Holland that would be the only person I need," he told followers before joking that he'd love for the actor's real-life partner Zendaya to play his wife.
"It would be cool if they just made you Zendaya. Tom Holland and Zendaya," he joked. "I mean they're a power couple let's be honest."