Skip Navigation,Sitemap

Dunfermline Press

A millimetre from death

Graham Gibson • Published 3 Aug 2012 09:30 Print Comments 4 Comments

Jump to first paragraph.

Share this Facebook Twitter Google Buzz Delicious DIGG Reddit Stumbleupon Email RSS

A ROSYTH teenager was a millimetre from bleeding to death or being paralysed for life when he speared himself on a tree.

Declan Clark (13), Grampian Road, suffered a 'million in one chance' injury after piercing his bowel on a branch when he playfully jumped on a Fir Tree.

The youngster also broke a small piece off the bottom of his spinal column as he messed around with pals in a neighbour's garden.

Remarkably the branch sprung straight out of his body, leaving no trace inside him, before Declan was rushed to hospital for a three and a half hour life-saving operation.

Dad John said, "He was playing with the kids and they were all jumping off a railing onto a wee Fir Tree. It was a million in one chance as he must have been at the right angle to go straight down and crush the top of the tree.

"Once the top of the tree couldn't crush any more, that's when it stabbed into his body. We reckon if it had been my younger son he wouldn't be here as when Declan landed his legs were just at the right height to touch the ground.

"He fell forward and the tree sprung back out of his body. It burst his bowel but they never found any part of the tree in his body.

"They took him to Kirkcaldy to get prepped for going to Edinburgh but they had to operate on him immediately."

Declan spent seven days in hospital recovering and now faces six months with a stoma bag as he waits to see if his bowel can heal itself.

John continued, "It wasn't until afterwards that the surgeon explained if the tree had went a millimetre one way he would have bled to death.

***

Read the full story in this week's Press

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

Post a comment

Registered users log in here

You must be logged in to post. If you have not registered with us, please do so now.

Registration only takes a few minutes. Registered users do not have to complete word verification once logged in and can also take part in competitions and other registered user only features of the site.


Enter the text as shown.

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.

Vote

Dunfermline Press Poll

Do you think Dunfermline Delivers does a good job for Dunfermline?



Most Read

  1. BREAKING NEWS: Reports of major incident in Dalgety Bay
  2. DALGETY BAY ACCIDENT UPDATE: Woman dies
  3. DALGETY BAY ACCIDENT UPDATE: Police appeal for witnesses after woman dies
  4. DALGETY BAY ACCIDENT UPDATE: Road screened from view
  5. Developer offers £1 for £174,000 Dunfermline site
  6. Pensioner killed in road collision named

» View More Stories

You may have missed

Hot Jobs

Your social, local Business Directory - It's in DunfermlineIt's in The DirectoryDirectory Network

Copyright ©2013 Forth Weekly Press, Pitreavie Business Park, Dunfermline, Fife, KY11 8QS • Tel: 01383 747500 • Fax: 01383 737040

Login     RSS Feeds FacebooK Twitter

close XCookies

We use cookies to enhance the use of our site - please see here for our Privacy and Cookie policy.