Man amputates his own fingers to save his life

Could you cut off your fingers or any body part if it meant saving your own life? A man in Washington State did just that. He thought that he had to cut off his fingers to save his own life.

William Messenger, 51, from Grays Harbour County, Wa was fishing with a friend on the Wynoochee River. A strong current made their boat veer into a logjam. The boat started to take on water and his fingers were stuck between the boat and a tree. He could not get his fingers free. The friend jumped out of the boat to try and get help. William believed he was going to die unless he was able to free himself from the boat. He took a pocket knife and he cut off his fingers. Just minutes after cutting off his fingers, his friend arrived with a crowbar to free his hand. Rescue crews later found his fingers and sent them to the hospital where he was taken to. He was in satisfactory condition. It is not known if his fingers were able to be reattached. That would be very hard to do. It reminded me of the article posted here a few weeks ago about a man who had to cut off his own leg with a pocket knife to save his own life. I guess when it comes to life or death, most people would choose life even if it meant cutting off a limb.