SCRATCH ANOTHER PROSPECTIVE PROFESSION OFF THE LIST:

'I cut off my arm to survive' (BBC, 23 October, 2002)

Doug Goodale cut off his own arm at the elbow in order to survive an accident at sea.

He had become caught in a winch hauling lobster pots up from the sea floor, and could not free himself.

The power of the winch left him hanging over the side of the boat, unable to either free himself or clamber back aboard.

As the boat was rocked by stormy weather, he believes it was only a last, desperate instinct for self-preservation that kicked in to save him.

He said: "Nobody near you, no help, no radio, nobody to turn the radio off - that's it - you're going to die."

Somehow he managed to haul himself back onto the deck, dislocating his shoulder in the process.

His motivation was the image of his daughters appearing to him.

"I don't know how to explain it to people, but I swear, climbing onto the boat were my two girls."

However, he was still trapped in the winch, bleeding heavily, and with no way of getting free, his only option was to pick up a knife and cut through his right arm.

He then managed to pilot his boat back into harbour to get medical help.

He said: "When my six-year-old tells me: 'It doesn't matter that you've only got one arm - you're here'.

"Now if you heard that from your kids, wouldn't you take a knife and do the same?"

I imagine I'd think it over for a few days first. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 23, 2002 6:36 PM