A Sunshine Coast man who almost tore off his thumb with an angle grinder has endured a weekend of hunger and fear as he spent a third day waiting for emergency surgery.
WARNING: The following image contains graphic content.
Carpenter Jarrod Kennewell, 27, had been helping a family member by using a grinder at a property at Peachester at about noon on Friday when he turned away for a moment as a wasp hovered by his face.
In that moment of inattention the grinder became caught on what he was grinding and ripped into his left hand.
"I just took my eyes off the grinder for a split second and it grabbed into the material and jumped up onto my hand," he said.
"It's gone two thirds of the way through the bone and gone through the tendons. It's quite the gash.
"I just looked down and thought 'oh s**t I've knicked myself here'.
"The pain was just excruciating. My teeth were chattering and legs shaking, and I couldn't do anything."
Paramedics arrived within the hour and rushed him to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Later that afternoon, doctors agreed he needed emergency surgery.
But three days later that still has not happened.
He has endured long periods without food as doctors keep him prepared for surgeries that have been continually postponed.
On top of the empty stomach, he says he has been on antibiotics and powerful painkillers.
He has also been vomiting.
He says he does not know if it's the hunger, taking the antibiotics on an empty stomach, or some form of reaction to the drugs, but by Sunday afternoon he felt like he was falling apart.
"It's really wearing me down to the point that I want to break down," he said.
"I'm losing feeling in the side of my thumb and I don't know if that's getting worse.
"I'll be honest, I actually cried earlier. Not to sound weak or anything like that, but it's really getting me down.
"I don't know how I'm going to be healing. My thumb has pretty much started to heal and the wound will be closing itself up.
"They're going to have to reopen it and cut it back out. It's taking a toll mentally on me".
Pale, hungry and frustrated
Mr Kennewell's partner Jodie Holcombe has tried to care for him as best she can, but still felt helpless as he waited for medical treatment.
She said she spoke to him on Sunday and he was scheduled to be in surgery at 10:15am although, after finishing work at 4:00pm, she returned to the hospital to find him in the same position, still fasting.
''So he had fasted all day until 7:00pm because we were hoping that he would still get it done that night,'' she said.
''I feel a little bit helpless because I can't take him out of the hospital and there's nothing I can do to speed up the operation.''
Delays due to 'clinical priorities'
The hospital has apologised for the delay, which it blames on other patients needing more urgent attention.
Clinical director of surgical services Nicolas Copertino said the hospital had 26 urgent life and or limb-saving surgeries over the weekend.
Dr Copertino said he did not expect the delay to affect Mr Kennewell's recovery.
Mr Kennewell was taken into surgery on Monday afternoon.
