Excerpt: The Man Who Saved Himself
I often go back through the archives and reread old stories I reported on. Some are small, dusty pieces that barely made a ripple. Others grab you by the collar and refuse to let go. This is one of those stories.
On a summer day in 1993, construction worker Donald Wyman, 37, found himself trapped. He was in the woods of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. A fallen tree had crushed his leg so severely that he couldn’t free himself. After an hour of pain and helpless screaming, Wyman realized time was running out.
With no other choice, he made a tourniquet out of a shoelace and a wrench from his power saw. Then, with a courage most of us can barely imagine, he amputated his own leg. Using a seven-inch pocketknife—cutting through muscle, skin, and nerves to seize his survival.
Badly wounded, he dragged himself to his bulldozer, and drove—bleeding—to his pickup. Once in his truck he managed to reach a neighbor’s farm half a mile away. The neighbor, John Huber, called rescuers, who later found Wyman’s leg still pinned under the tree, boot and all. Thanks to his grit and quick medical response, Wyman survived and was upgraded from critical to stable within days.
Had he hesitated, his story would have been reduced to a one-paragraph obituary in his hometown paper. But Wyman wasn’t a victim—he was a survivor. He did what had to be done.
And that’s the lesson. You may never face a tree crushing your leg. Yet, you may face toxic relationships. You might meet negative influences or habits that hold you back. Sometimes survival means cutting away the very thing that’s dragging you down. You may face a country that has appeared to have turned against you. It won’t be easy. It may hurt. But in the long run, it can save your life—so you can live fully with those you love.
Be your own Wyman. Write your own survival story.
By Benjamin GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2025
benandsteve.com 
I remember this story, truly heroic.
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Astonising courage and grit. I can’t help but wonder, however, how he cut through the bone.
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When I was researching the material and reading about his journey, I too had the same question. He had the chainssaw. I suspected he had used it as a quick resource to free himself. But he did not. I was just as curious. And dug in deeper. Wondering how he did it. I didn’t answer the question in the story on purpose. Hoping it would be a subject of questioning. And Mitch you zeroed in on it. Thank you!
Here’s Here is how it really happened:
The knife: He used a cheap, dull multi-tool blade (often misdescribed as a pocketknife). The blade was not sharp enough to cut through bone cleanly.
The method: After hours of being pinned, he realized he couldn’t saw through the bone. Instead, he leveraged his body weight to snap the radius and ulna bones of his forearm against the rock, breaking them.
The cutting: Once the bones were broken, he used the blade to cut through the remaining soft tissue — skin, muscle, tendons.
Finishing: He then used pliers from the multi-tool to clamp and cut nerves.
So the truth is: Ralston broke his bones first, then cut through the tissue with the multi-tool. No chainsaw was involved.
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All the more astonishing, Ben. I can’t imagine remaining conscious and enduring that level of pain. Talk about a will to live!
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I’m always slow to get back to folks—so my apologies for the delay. Your comment really struck me. I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of courage it would take to touch a dull knife to your own trapped leg, let alone saw through it while your nerves scream for you to stop. The sheer willpower and focus required for that kind of act is beyond comprehension. Whatever mindset that man found in that moment—it’s something most of us could only hope to summon if faced with the impossible. If it could be bottled, I’m certain every military in the world would want to know the formula.
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Sometimes, experiencing pain frees us. That’s what Donald does to save himself. Inspiring story, Benjamin.
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