0:00:05 > 0:00:07With mind boggling medical mishaps...
0:00:07 > 0:00:10- Ouch! - ..and the quirkiest of casualties...
0:00:10 > 0:00:13My boyfriend dropped a turnip on my foot.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15..this is Bizarre ER.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20And for the first time,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23we've camped out in not one but two British hospitals,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Northampton General and Bradford Royal Infirmary...
0:00:26 > 0:00:27PHONE RINGS
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Hello.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31..to bring you the curious cases
0:00:31 > 0:00:34that are all in a day's work for the stoic staff...
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Can you see your pound coin there?
0:00:36 > 0:00:39..but which have to be seen to be believed.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40Ah!
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Plus, we've scoured the planet for the people who,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47thanks to amazing medics, have survived the most extraordinary
0:00:47 > 0:00:49accidents and emergencies known to man.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55Nobody believes they're going to get the Black Death.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59So scrub up, sit back and enjoy the sometimes silly,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03often odd, but never dull world of Bizarre ER.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06All I can say is, thank heavens for the NHS.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Thank you.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Coming up -
0:01:24 > 0:01:27one man's feeling off key after an odd karaoke calamity.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31I'll probably get an award for the most stupid man on the planet.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33THEY LAUGH
0:01:33 > 0:01:34Hot off the press -
0:01:34 > 0:01:37a paper machine mangles one woman's mitt.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39- Is it a mess?- Yeah.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43And we reveal how surgeons used a bit of this man's ear
0:01:43 > 0:01:46to save his face when he was impaled on not one
0:01:46 > 0:01:49but three fence posts in a catastrophic car crash.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55I've never known anybody to suffer injuries like that and survive it.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04But first we're heading to Bradford Royal Infirmary
0:02:04 > 0:02:07where four-year-old Namine Sayed has come to A&E with her mum
0:02:07 > 0:02:10as there's something unusual caught between her teeth.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Keep that there, keep it there!
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And we don't just mean her nursery teacher, Lisa.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Namine has somehow managed to get a staple embedded in her gum.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Just holding my finger in place at the moment,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26so that the other end of the staple doesn't pierce her cheek.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32Lisa's had her finger wedged in Namine's gnashers for nearly an hour
0:02:32 > 0:02:37since a classroom assistant noticed her chewing something.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40When the teaching assistant asked her to open her mouth
0:02:40 > 0:02:43they noticed that the staple was sticking out.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Lisa's seen kids hoover up all manner of inedible items
0:02:46 > 0:02:49over the years, but this is a first.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53I don't often spend my days with my finger in someone's mouth normally.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57- Namine Sayed.- Namine, yay!
0:02:57 > 0:02:59# I'm sticking with you... #
0:02:59 > 0:03:01By gum!
0:03:01 > 0:03:05It can't be easy toddling with your teacher stapled to your face.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Hoping to extract both teacher and staple,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12is paediatric specialist Nawar El-Kadir.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- You can take your hand.- Oh, yeah, we were just worried about the...
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I don't think so. It will be all right.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Dr El-Kadir begins by adopting a DIY approach.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25You do it by yourself.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30You do it. It's coming down, yeah. You do it, yeah.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Right, it's nearly there, yeah.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Looks like the doctor's going to have to get stuck in.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Ow, ah!
0:03:39 > 0:03:40Ah!
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Open, open, open up, up!
0:03:42 > 0:03:48It's nearly there. We're just getting it out. Open, open, up, up.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49It's a hairy moment,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53but at least Namine's got the whole family's support.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Kind of.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Ah, ah! Good girl.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Ah!
0:03:59 > 0:04:00Just stuck between the two teeth.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Right. I'm just going to pull it. That's it!
0:04:07 > 0:04:08See?
0:04:08 > 0:04:11I don't think she need anything apart from just painkiller.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15- Have you got any Calpol?- Yes. - Yeah, at home, yeah?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Just give her some Calpol, and don't do that again.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- OK.- You promise? Yeah?
0:04:21 > 0:04:25- OK.- Thank you very much. - OK, bye-bye.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29And at last, detached from both Lisa and the staple, it's playtime.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34The children in A&E, we see most of the time foreign bodies in nose,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37it's stuck in the nose or it's stuck in the ear.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42This case is definitely bizarre. A very, very odd case to see.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46From now on, let's hope Namine adopts a different staple diet.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Step into school and you're likely to encounter
0:04:53 > 0:04:55as much tribulation as education.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58A staggering half a million people
0:04:58 > 0:05:02are sent from classroom to casualty each year.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03Top marks go to books,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07while blackboards get a respectable B+,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10almost 100 students are pained by pins,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14while bottom of the class are calculators.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18These accidents with adding machines, while not frequent, can be lucrative.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21One student in Suffolk received £9,000
0:05:21 > 0:05:24after a calculator thrown at him chipped his tooth.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28At least I can afford to go to university now.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31And even if your academic career is moments from over,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33don't get complacent.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Graduation Day should be a source of joy,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38unless you're the student at Anglia Ruskin University
0:05:38 > 0:05:42who needed stitches after being hit by a flying mortarboard.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Bizarrely 24 cases of classroom catastrophes involved wild animals.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Such was the case at a school in Michigan in 2008
0:05:52 > 0:05:56where a class of little dears was terrorised by a much bigger deer,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58who popped in to teach them all a lesson.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00The brave buck burst in through the window
0:06:00 > 0:06:04before realising he should have been in Room 2b for double French
0:06:04 > 0:06:05and making a break for it.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Au revoir, my dears!
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Our next patient tonight is A&E auditionee, Robert Sutcliffe.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22A wannabe starlet with a weird wound.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Robert's been brought to Bradford Royal Infirmary by wife, Jules,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29after stabbing himself in the leg with a carving knife.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33He's plunged the blade in with so much force
0:06:33 > 0:06:36that it came out the other side.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40I'll probably get an award for the most stupid man on the planet but...
0:06:40 > 0:06:42JULES LAUGHS
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Ah, don't be too hard on yourself, Robert.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Not many people can claim to have single-handedly invented a new sport.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Extreme karaoke.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The night before, having stayed in to watch X Factor,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Robert popped to the kitchen to collect a freshly baked pizza.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59Mmmmm, pizza.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Having sliced it up, he was about to come back
0:07:02 > 0:07:04when he heard his favourite song coming on.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07# Diamonds are forever... #
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Robert needed a mic and grabbed the closest thing to hand,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13a ten inch carving knife.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Dancing enthusiastically, his razor sharp rendition
0:07:16 > 0:07:20came to an abrupt end as he sank the blade into his leg.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Oh, no.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29First up to judge Robert's X Factor folly
0:07:29 > 0:07:32is senior nurse practitioner Simon Besford.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33Right, go on, what's happened?
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Right, I were watching X Factor, picked up a knife
0:07:37 > 0:07:41and I held the knife as a microphone and I were dancing
0:07:41 > 0:07:44with my hands like that and accidentally stuck the knife in me.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49- I think he were trying to impress the dog.- I do it all the time.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52- Ahh!- Oh, sorry, love.- Jesus!
0:07:54 > 0:07:57OK, what I'd like you to do is just pop down here.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59It might all sound like a bit of a daft disaster,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03but a stab wound from a ten inch knife is a major injury.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Simon needs to inspect the gash, sharpish.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- You've had a fair old whack, haven't you?- Yeah.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Robert's entry and exit wound is certainly impressing this judge.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- Tender round there?- Yeah. - Tender round there?- Yeah.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20All that just messing about, you know, dancing and acting stupid.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25The area's really painful and given the depth of it,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Simon's concerned that Robert may have damaged the nerves,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31which can lead to loss of function or sensation in the leg,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34or, worse still, hit a vessel that supplies blood
0:08:34 > 0:08:36to the rest of the limb.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Sorry, you've got quite a haematoma, which is what we call
0:08:39 > 0:08:42a massive accumulation of blood just round here. You can feel it.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44You've probably caught a vessel that feeds
0:08:44 > 0:08:47that muscle round here, which is why you've got this spurting.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51If a vessel or artery's damaged, Robert would need immediate surgery.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Simon calls in A&E specialist, Dr Ragu Nathan, for a closer look.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01- Hiya.- Hello. Just check your pulse to begin with.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04A weak pulse below the wound could indicate
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Robert is bleeding out of a damaged blood vessel.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11It is a serious injury because the worse scenario can be
0:09:11 > 0:09:14if you're unlucky and if it's a large vessel,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17it needs treatment straight away. Otherwise, he may bleed to death.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Or if he cuts a nerve, then it is dangerous.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Your pulses are OK.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Robert's been incredibly lucky
0:09:26 > 0:09:29and managed to miss any of the vital arteries.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I think what has happened is you've damaged some muscle fibres.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35- Yeah.- So what we'll do is we'll put a good dressing on that,
0:09:35 > 0:09:36put you on some good antibiotics,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- and then we'll see how it is getting on. Yeah?- Thanks.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44- But before he can leave...- Just going to give it a little clean.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47..there's a small matter of cleaning out his agonising wound.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Oh!
0:09:50 > 0:09:53The build up of hardened blood in Robert's thigh
0:09:53 > 0:09:55has made it incredibly tender.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00If he'd have come to A&E last night straight after stabbing himself,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04rather than waiting until today, he could've avoided all this agony.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07If you want to be famous it's the price you've got to pay.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08No pain, no gain.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Yeah...I think I'd rather not.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I'm going to hide all the knives when I get home.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Once clean, nurse Simon can apply an antiseptic strip
0:10:20 > 0:10:24and bandage up the leg before dishing out one last bit of advice.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Watch Strictly Come Dancing instead. It's safer.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Yeah! It's a bit slower!
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Robert might not be heading to Boot Camp,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37but he'll need a bit of help to take the weight off his feet.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Just pop your hands in there.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44He's packed off with crutches, some antibiotics to combat pizza-based infection
0:10:44 > 0:10:48and strict instructions to knock extreme karaoke on the head.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49Thanks a lot, love.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53But Bradford's latest reality star is going to have to learn
0:10:53 > 0:10:56to live with his new-found celebrity.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59You've got the X Factor!
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Very funny!
0:11:00 > 0:11:04With the adoration of his public ringing in his ears,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06but having received the lowest number of votes,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Robert's heading home.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Next we're heading to Northampton General
0:11:19 > 0:11:20where Tom Smith has arrived
0:11:20 > 0:11:23after spending most of the afternoon up a ladder.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26But it isn't a nasty tumble from a great height
0:11:26 > 0:11:29that's landed Tom in A&E.
0:11:29 > 0:11:36Just got blotches everywhere, all over my skin, up my back. Just everywhere.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40But Tom's not allergic to ladders, his weird rash is the result
0:11:40 > 0:11:43of an odd encounter whilst he was three storeys up.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44Hello.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- Plumber, Tom, was using his power drill...- Yeah!
0:11:48 > 0:11:50..on top of a ladder,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53- 20 feet off the ground. - It's all good.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56All was good when suddenly disaster struck.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Out of nowhere a wasp went on the offensive
0:11:58 > 0:12:00sticking its stinger into Tom.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Tom was almost toppled, but it wasn't the prospect
0:12:05 > 0:12:08of plummeting to the ground he had to worry about.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Once down off the ladder, his ears started ringing
0:12:11 > 0:12:15and his face turned red. So he was sent straight to A&E.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21With Tom's immune system buzzing and with the rash spreading fast,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23staff rush him through for urgent treatment.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- I'm in blotches everywhere, all over my body.- Can you catch it?
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Girlfriend Georgina arrives with her sister
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and the couple's daughter, Summer.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- I can't believe it's just come out so quickly.- It was instant.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- Is it on your legs and everything? - Everywhere, all over my legs.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45- I don't feel right, babe. - It's all right, you can keep that.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49With these touching parting words, Tom heads off for treatment.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53- Where are the stings? - Everywhere. I got stung on my neck...
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Let's have a look. Can you turn for me? OK.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I got stung on my neck and straight away, my whole body, it's just everywhere.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04To be honest, I wasn't really very worried until I saw him
0:13:04 > 0:13:06and it looks really painful, doesn't it?
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Using their own big steel stinger, medics put a line in Tom's arm
0:13:10 > 0:13:14and take blood for analysis. Their biggest concern is anaphylaxis.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Worst case scenario for anaphylaxis
0:13:18 > 0:13:21is the airway swells and the person struggles to breathe.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24The blood pressure starts to drop very quickly. It can prove fatal.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Staff inject antihistamine,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29hoping this will help rid Tom of his bizarre blotches.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32With Tom now in safe hands and receiving treatment,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Georgina's attention turns to other things.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41Is it on his willy? Is it everywhere?
0:13:42 > 0:13:47Tom's just as preoccupied with the size of his stinger.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50You never know, the swelling stays down there,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55it might, you know, put a couple of extra inches on it for me!
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Horrible. I bet she's out there having a right laugh, isn't she?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09- Speak of the devil. - Hello. Is everything all right?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Hey, steady on now, guys.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I hope it'll clear up by the time we go to bed tonight,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17or else I'll have to sleep next to that.
0:14:17 > 0:14:23- You can sleep on the sofa, love.- You can sleep on the sofa.- No, you can.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27The drugs seem to be taking effect, but nurse Rachel wants to check Tom's blood sugar.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31That's fine. 5.6, that's normal.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34And make sure his blood pressure is heading in the right direction.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Everything within the normal range.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Before Doctor Subramanian comes in for a final check-up.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- Open your mouth for me. Say, "Ahh".- Ahh.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47You're fine. Everything is going OK, so I'll discharge you.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48Yeah, yeah.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51OK, take care.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Thank you very much.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57So Tom can buzz off home,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59where Georgina will be waiting,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02ready to keep a close eye on any swellings during the night.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Bizarre accidents aren't restricted to Northampton, and doctors deal with a range
0:15:11 > 0:15:14of extraordinary emergencies across the UK.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23After a terrifying car crash, one man's life, limb and face was in peril
0:15:23 > 0:15:27until inspired surgeons came up with some surreal solutions to fix him,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30which included using his earlobe to make a new lip.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40- Meet Sean.- Hi. - He's a bit of a petrol head.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I just love cars to bits.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48But Sean's love of motors almost killed him, when in a devastating accident,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52he wrote off his car, as well as his face.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Surgeons would have to rebuild him, harvesting bits of his own ear to mend his mouth.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04MUSIC: "Highway To Hell" by AC/DC.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10Sean's journey down the A-road to hell started simply enough.
0:16:10 > 0:16:17It was a torrential thunderstorm at the time I set off. I just managed to hit a very flooded patch of road.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Sean lost control of the car and it flipped over and over.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26The only thing that went through my mind was the words, "Oh, shit".
0:16:26 > 0:16:28I knew I was going to hit something very hard.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31And that hard thing was this hard fence.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38Three massive fence posts, four feet long, forced their way through Sean's body.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Unbelievably, Sean was still conscious.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47The pain was unbearable as he lay impaled in the seat of his car,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50the lower part of his face annihilated.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54It was exactly this type of fencing, part of it had gone through my leg,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56part through my chest and part through my jaw.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Rescue teams rushed to the scene.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06It was just horror to see this chap in the car,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08lower half of his face missing.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13The four minutes it took the fire crew to open the car felt like a lifetime.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15We had to work quickly, get the windscreen out,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18get at the gentleman and then we could treat him.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23He was hardly breathing, and rescue crews feared for his life.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27We suspected that he may die from his injuries on the way to the hospital,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29or in theatre once he got there.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31In fact, he died twice in the ambulance
0:17:31 > 0:17:32on the way to the hospital.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37As Sean arrived at hospital,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40he was met by a tag team of trauma experts.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42One would work on his face...
0:17:42 > 0:17:4575% of his lower lip was missing.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48While the other simultaneously tried to save his shoulder.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Quite literally, he was a mess.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56Maxillofacial surgeon Peter Leopard quickly set about the task of rebuilding Sean's jaw.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58The jaw was in nine pieces.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Like a horrific 3D jigsaw, using a series of plates and screws,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07his jawbone was painstakingly put back together.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10These are bone screws holding the fragments together.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Reconstructing the jigsaw is really quite tricky sometimes.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17With Sean's jaw repaired, he now needed new lips.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23That's difficult, where you've got three-quarters of the lower lip missing, still at the roadside.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Lips are more important than you think - not only do they hold things in our mouth,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33they help us eat, and we need them to speak.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Doctors would have to make Sean some new ones. But what from?
0:18:37 > 0:18:43Earlobes provides a reasonable profile, similar to the lower lip.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Bizarrely, surgeons harvested Sean's own earlobe
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and stitched it onto what remained of his lips.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52While Peter Leopard was rearranging Sean's face,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57Jon Dwyer was right by his side, repairing the damage done to Sean's shoulder.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02All of the muscles and tendons and ligaments that normally stabilise a shoulder
0:19:02 > 0:19:06had been ripped off. It was the most bizarre injury I have ever encountered.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08He began by cleaning out the wound.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Dirty, rotten, wooden,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14mouldy fence post material, of which there was an awful lot.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19There was a large risk of infection, so the wound was kept open
0:19:19 > 0:19:22and cleaned meticulously, which proved time-consuming.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24It ran over into Friday 13th.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33The fence post had smashed the shoulder to smithereens.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Normally, an arm this badly damaged would be amputated,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40but as Sean was left-handed, they decided to rescue the limb.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Surgeons had done a remarkable job,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48but it was by no means the end of the road.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52The repairs were only temporary, and they'd have to use all their ingenuity and skill
0:19:52 > 0:19:56to devise more permanent solutions for Sean.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Their biggest challenges lay ahead.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Sean's earlobe lip didn't last long, so he needed another new set of smackers.
0:20:05 > 0:20:12The best solution would be an Abbe nasal flap, which would involve drawing part of the upper lip down
0:20:12 > 0:20:16to connect to its lower lip before slitting across the connective tissue.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21They took this section from my upper lip, stitched it to my lower lip.
0:20:21 > 0:20:27I couldn't open my mouth properly, I just had two small apertures either side, in the corner of my mouth.
0:20:27 > 0:20:33Which would mean Sean's mouth would be stitched together for ten days, waiting for the skin to graft.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38I developed a new skill, the ability to eat chips and push them through the holes in my face.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Finally, Sean's new mouth was cut open
0:20:41 > 0:20:45and he was able to enjoy his first meal of choice...a burger.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50While Sean's new mouth was being made, surgeons were also looking at ways to fix his shoulder,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54which had so much muscle damage that regular medical devices couldn't be used.
0:20:55 > 0:21:01Surgeons embarked on a solution that was both bizarre and lengthy, taking two years to complete.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05They deployed a device usually used in children's hip replacements,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08as it was the perfect size for Sean's shoulder.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11They lengthened the arm by cutting the bone
0:21:11 > 0:21:16and letting it grow back while being stretched by an external fixator.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20The arm that was almost amputated made an amazing recovery,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22allowing Sean to get on with life.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27So even though I have no rotational joint, I do have the ability to move my arm up and down.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32He'll be able to reach his mouth, the back of his head, or his backside,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35which is the important function of the elbow and shoulder together.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40I've never asked him about his backside - the doctor-patient relationship will only go so far!
0:21:42 > 0:21:46We're both delighted that he survived and made a good recovery.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51I've never known anybody to suffer injuries like that and survive it...
0:21:51 > 0:21:52in 37 years.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Thanks to the quick response of rescue teams,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01and the staggering skill of surgeons, Sean's able to live life to the full.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04No matter how bleak things get, there's always a chance
0:22:04 > 0:22:08that things will be better round the corner, and I've never given up.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Next, we're at Bradford Royal Infirmary, where printing press operator Denise Swithenbank
0:22:19 > 0:22:24has been rushed to A&E with a hand like a newspaper.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Yes, that's right... it's red all over!
0:22:26 > 0:22:30I daren't look at it, but I did hear it pop when it went in the machine.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33You've got a nasty cut right through it, really... OK?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Viewers who don't want to see exactly what popped should look away now.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- Is it a mess?- Yeah.
0:22:42 > 0:22:47An hour ago, Denise was repairing the conveyor belt on a machine at work.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52With the belt back on the rollers, she turned the machine on, but it slipped out of position.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Without turning the machine off, she leant in to grab the belt.
0:22:56 > 0:23:02Her fingers were sucked into the rollers, pulled along the belt and mangled by the mechanism.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Yeah, just try and make a fist with this finger for me.
0:23:07 > 0:23:13It looks like she's cut the arteries that supply the tip of the finger and the nerves.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Which means it'll probably be better from her point of view
0:23:16 > 0:23:18to do an amputation of the bit of finger
0:23:18 > 0:23:21that's three-quarter chopped off already.
0:23:21 > 0:23:27Denise's digit is so badly damaged, Mr Bradley fears she may lose half of it,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29but his first priority is pain relief,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31which he needs to pump directly into the site of the wound.
0:23:31 > 0:23:38That means injecting a mixture of fast and slow-acting anaesthetics to block the pain.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43- It's just two little injections... Is that very sore?- No, it's fine.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- OK.- Once the needle's gone in, it's fine.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- Ooh, that's sore.- I'm sorry.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Unfortunately for Denise, this painkiller hurts.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55One more injection, just nice and relaxed.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Ooh! Ouch!
0:23:57 > 0:24:02- OK. How does your middle finger feel?- That's fine.- You sure?- Yeah.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06You just saying that cos you don't want another injection?
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Anything but another injection!
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Denise remains incredibly brave, but there's more bad news to come.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15This time about her wedding ring.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18If you have a rigid ring, it can act like a tourniquet as it swells,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22it can cut the blood supply off in the most severe cases.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25The ring has been on Denise's finger for 27 happy years,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27but today, it's got to come off.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30My husband will have to buy me a new one.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34That's if he doesn't divorce me for being so stupid!
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Just pop your finger there for me.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40As her paw's all puffed up, it's not just a matter of slipping it off,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and staff have to resort to the ring cutter.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46It's quite a thick ring... there we are.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Surgery on a wedding ring!
0:24:49 > 0:24:53You can have them repaired at the jewellers - it's quite misshaped anyway, so...
0:24:53 > 0:24:5827 years of hitting my husband over the head!
0:24:58 > 0:25:04With the ring removed, Mr Bradley can finally send Denise to X-ray to get a closer look at her hand,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08fearing the results will point to amputation.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12So, Doc, what are the headlines?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Well, it's pretty good, we might save the tip.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19I'm pleasantly surprised, because it shows that the end bone of her finger,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23the distal phalanx, has a few little fractures in it, but is largely intact.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29But it will all depend on the blood supply. It's not as severe as I thought. She's very lucky.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37Mr Bradley sends Denise up to see plastic surgeon Raghav Kulkarni,
0:25:37 > 0:25:42who's been assigned the task of repairing her decimated digits.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45This doesn't seem too bad, but we need to explore these cuts to see...
0:25:45 > 0:25:50you don't seem to have done anything major, and the blood supply and vascularity to the finger
0:25:50 > 0:25:53seems to be good and the tendons seem to be reasonably intact.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58An hour later, Denise is on her way to theatre to have her finger stitched up.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Once she's under general anaesthetic, Raghav can have a good look at the wounds
0:26:03 > 0:26:05on the index and middle fingers.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09He checks for any dirt or debris, before stitching the fingers up
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and then administers the ultimate medical manicure...
0:26:12 > 0:26:15sticking her fingernail back on.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20So now we're observing this finger, and seeing that it's kept warm and it pinks up,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23and we expect it to pink up as time goes by.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27This is probably one of the better outcomes that we're looking for. So far, things are positive.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32The next afternoon, Denise's hand couldn't look more different.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It looks a thousand times better than yesterday.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Yesterday, I thought, "They'll never make that look any better."
0:26:39 > 0:26:43I honestly expected two amputations when I came in yesterday.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I'm very impressed.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Ahh, just in time.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Meals on wheels with a hearty bowl of oxtail soup.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Not really - that's actually an antiseptic hand bath
0:26:55 > 0:26:58for Denise to dip her digits in to kill off any germs.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03- It's incredible what they've done. - Before her hand's all dressed up with somewhere to go.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05That's fine.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11Remarkably, thanks to the combined efforts of the Bradford staff,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14that evening, Denise and her patched-up paw are discharged
0:27:14 > 0:27:19and we're happy to report that just two months on, her hand was on the mend
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and hubby Chris could slip a new ring on her finger.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Next time on Bizarre ER,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33a weird wound proves painful for one woodsman...
0:27:36 > 0:27:39There's a bizarre blockage in one little lughole...
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Is that all of it or just part of it?
0:27:41 > 0:27:46And the mind-boggling story of how this woman broke her neck
0:27:46 > 0:27:51after falling from a New Mexico mountain, and yet lived to tell us her tale.
0:27:51 > 0:27:58When people fall straight down 20 feet, that's when terrible damage occurs to the human body,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00and she fell three times that far.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:23 > 0:28:26E-mail - subtitling@bbc.co.uk