A man in Washington state is recovering after he was sucked into a woodchipper at work and suffered multiple injuries last week, the New York Daily News reported.
Frank Arce, a 23-year-old employee at Swanson Bark and Wood Products Co., was trying to unjam the machine when the dangerous incident began.
"Actually going through the machine itself was not the worst part about it," Arce said. "The worst part was not knowing what was going to happen."
He sufferred several broken ribs, a shattered ankle, a broken leg, a broken hip, a collapsed lung, a bruised liver, and multiple lacerations on his body.
"There was a thought (that I was going to die), but it was more like something was telling me that I wasn't going to die that day," Arce added.
According to local station KATU-TV, he will spend at least two more weeks in the PeaceHealth SW Washington Medical Center in Vancouver. His company will be covering the hospital bills.
After a "rough couple days," Arce told reporters that he's feeling better.
"I felt I had a lot of angels out there with me that day, a lot of people looking out for me," he said.
Arce's mother, Brenda, said her son's co-workers helped him until first responders arrived.
"They kept him calm, joking around with him, making light of the situation so he would stay calm," Brenda Arce said.
His mother also said she was unsure if her son would ever be back to normal again.
"We're not exactly sure the extent of what he'll be able to do. He might not be at a 100 percent but he's alive and that's all we care about," she said.
Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for the state's Departmet of Labor and Industries, said an investigation into the incident is underway though Swanson Bark and Wood Products Co. does not have any safety violations.
A manager at the company did not return a call to comment from CBS News.
