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Feb 27, 2009 10:45 pm US/Central
Against Odds, Man Survives Home Explosion
(WCCO)
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"You should never give up, because you don't know what's going to happen," said Hal Nelson.
CBS
A Twin Cities family remembers getting four phone calls. They were told each time their loved one wasn't going to make it. But every time they rushed to the hospital, he did.
"I think it's a miracle that I'm still alive," said Hal Nelson from his hospital bed in the Burn Unit of Hennepin County Medical Center.
He's now recovering there after his home in Rutland, North Dakota, blew up last fall. The town is about 100 miles southwest of Fargo.
Nelson was trapped beneath a pile of rubble after the explosion. He remembers checking out a "hissing sound" coming from the propane tank in the basement before it happened.
"I figured something has to be going on when I heard that noise," recalled Nelson. "So I figured I'd see what the noise was."
The stairs broke just as he tried to run up and get out.
"You know, it happened so quick. I went down, and I knew I had to get out, and 'boom!' There it was," said Nelson.
Nelson's neighbor pulled him out before the place caught fire.
"I heard this loud explosion. I looked over here, and [there was] a cloud of smoke," said Vern Leist that day.
Nelson's sister, Becky Wilke, remembers his kidneys and lungs shutting down. Her brother was in an induced coma for three months and breathing with a respirator. Nelson's doctor gave the family grim news.
"We would always counsel the family that we were on the verge of losing him. We weren't sure that we were going to make it through this next hour," said Dr. George Peltier, M.D., who runs the Burn Center at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
In fact, Nelson's parents and sister remember the phone calls they got several times from the hospital.
"We were told they wanted to take him off life support," recalled Becky.
She and her parents decided not to.
"He was fighting, and how could we give up?" Becky recalled. "I guess it's just our faith in God, faith in Nelson. Nelson's a strong, determined person. How could you let go? He kept coming back. He kept coming back."
Nelson kept hope. His family did, too.
He's been working with therapists to get stronger. He's learning how to use his arms and hands again, so he can eat, walk and do other things on his own.
Right from the start, the odds were stacked against Nelson. He's pulled through, and that's what this survivor is sharing.
"You should never give up, because you don't know what's going to happen," said Nelson.
He's looking forward to fishing and just being outside when he gets home. He's got another three to six weeks of therapy to go.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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