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Sunday, November 5, 2000 ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -- 'It's a miracle that he's alive' By MISSY MATASIC Centre Daily Times OFFERING THANKS The Westons and Helen Witherite would like to thank the following people for helping since Grant Weston of Bush Hollow lost his hands in a farming accident Wednesday.
Wayne Shamer
Rober King Chistopher Wilkinson David and Russell Spotts Ryland and Will Brower Marvin Richner Donald Conklin Tim Parks Mike Watson They also like to thank the many other friends and relatives who have helped. BUSH HOLLOW -- Getting pulled into a corn picker could have cost Grant Weston his life -- but it cost him his hands. Like many farmers, he decided to reach into the machinery before turning it off -- a shortcut he greatly regrets. "I guess you can't be too careful," said Weston, 59, who was listed in stable condition Saturday night at Hershey Medical Center, where he was flown Wednesday night after an accident. After getting caught in the machine about 2:30 p.m., he spent almost three hours struggling to free himself from rubber rollers pulling him in. Family members said he spent much of that time screaming, hoping that perhaps hunters might be nearby and hear him. Eventually, the machine burned off his hands, freeing him without any bleeding. He walked a half-mile to the home of Helen Witherite, on whose farm he had been working. Witherite, who was putting up curtains, saw from a window that he was seriously hurt and she called 911. "You see these kinds of things in the movies and you think it's special effects. When you see it for real, it's a whole 'nother story," said Byron Weston, who tried to comfort his brother before the ambulance arrived. Although the accident was scary, friends and family members said they are thankful for the way it turned out. "I feel in my heart that Byron and I witnessed a miracle. It's a miracle that he's alive and was able to walk down that hill after all the trauma and pain," Witherite said. Weston has been farming her land for 27 years -- ever since her husband was killed in a tractor accident on the same hill. Witherite and the Westons are also thankful for all the help from friends and relatives. Since Wednesday, more than a dozen people have helped prepare the fields for winter, bring in about 100 bales of hay and straw, pick corn from fields and milk cows twice a day. But while all the work has been appreciated, the family has concerns about the medical bills. "We're gonna need a lot of help -- this has been a terrible experience," said Witherite, who worries about how Weston's family will pay for all the medial needs and hopes a fund will be set up in his name. Missy Matasic can be reached at 231-4648 and mmatasic@centredaily.com.
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