Father narrowly survives rare internal decapitation after falling at work
A man has lived to tell the tale after being 'internal decapitated' from a freak accident at work, recalling how he heard a 'pop or a crack' when it happened.
Also known as Atlanto-occipital dislocation, it happens when all of the membranes and ligaments connecting the skull to the spine are totally severed. On the surface you'd never be able to tell, as the outer skin remains intact.
This brings us to the story of 32-year-old father-of-two, Philip Pohle, who back in March was clearing trees at Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio when one of the trees fell and crushed him.
Pohle's foot was stuck on the gas pedal of his front loader, which in turn forced a branch against his neck. The effects of this gradually tilted his head upwards, causing his spine and skull to separate - in which he recalled hearing a 'popping or cracking' noise.
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"If [the machine] didn't stop, it probably would've ripped my head off," Pohle said to WBNS 10TV of the freak accident.
At the scene, resource officers temporarily patched him up with a neck brace from their trauma kit.
This stopped Pohle's neck from moving any further and ultimately kept him alive, while the responders chainsawed debris out of the way to free him.
He recalled of the thoughts going through his mind at the time, saying emotionally: "I started thinking of my children because it was really nice being a dad. I just thought how much I was going to miss them, miss my babies."
According to his surgeon, Dr. Victor Awuor, who used plates, rods and screws to fix the problem, the life-threatening chasm between Pohle's spine and skull was 9 millimetres when he was transported to hospital - just 1mm shy of tearing off the spinal cord.
However, he somehow managed to avoid any broken bones during the accident.
In a middle finger to medical history - half of all internal decapitation patients die instantly - Pohle was up and walking within a month.
Pohle's subsequent medical expenditure inspired his girlfriend Haley Davidson's best friend, Brittany Berry, to launch a GoFundMe page.
She was hoping to secure $30,000 (£22,250) in donations, and at the time of writing, Berry's campaign has over-performed by $1,274 (£944.86).
"He has an extremely lengthy road to recovery and sadly bills and costs of living will not pause for their family," the description reads.
"Haley and Phillip share two small children, to which Haley is a stay-at-home mother. They could use all the help and support that can be given at this moment, even if it's just a share.
"Phillip has always been a tremendous worker for ODNR for 2 years now and enjoyed his job. This was such a fast-devastating blow to their little family, and now the world rests on Haley's shoulders.
"We're simply trying to help soften the blow of stress so she can spend as much time as possible with Phillip and also her children."
Dan Seddon