RETIRED builder Brendan eviscerated himself after falling onto a circular saw in his garden and then scooped up his bowels and wrapped them in a T-shirt before driving himself to a local community hospital for help.
The 67-year-old had been cutting pallets when he tripped and fell onto the 9-inch blade of the saw, which cut through his abdomen and through to his bowels.
Remarkably, Mr Clancy of Upper Cwmtwrch, in the Swansea Valley, managed to drive himself to Ystradgynlais Community Hospital 10 minutes away.
He said: “At first, I had fallen on the back of the saw, and I thought ‘that is going to hurt’, but then I felt something squidgy and I realised my bowels were coming out. I couldn’t believe it. They just kept coming out and it seemed as if it would never stop. There was a bucket on the floor but that was dirty, and I thought I couldn’t use that, so I went inside and grabbed a T-shirt and wrapped them up in that. I must have been running on adrenaline, I knew I needed help but knew I couldn’t wait for help to arrive.”
“My wife was away in Carmarthen and my phone was in my pocket where my insides were spilling out. I drove myself to the minor injuries unit which is a few miles away in Ystradgynlais. I was making sure I was keeping my senses and concentrating on the road while driving. I have a manual car, and all my guts were all over the gear lever side, but it helped to take my mind off it. When you are carrying your guts, you don’t think of anything else apart from keeping them all in one place.
“There was no blood even though the saw had cut through about four inches of my bowel, but I could see my breakfast.”
Brendan was taken to nearby Pontardawe playing fields where the Wales Air Ambulance helicopter was waiting for him, and he was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he underwent surgery.
The father of five has made a full recovery with no lasting injury, other than a 12-inch scar.
