Greg Norman will recover from gruesome chain shaw accident

AP....Greg Norman is recovering from a chain saw accident that nearly cost him his left hand, but not his sense of humor. “At least I can still play tennis,” Norman told The Associated Press by phone Sunday morning.

Norman, was cutting back trees in his South Florida home when the weight of a branch pulled his left hand toward the chain saw. He said the blade hit him just below where a person would be wearing a wrist watch. He said doctors told him it missed his artery by a fraction of an inch.

“Thank God the blade wasn’t running full speed or it would have taken my hand off,” Norman said. “I handled everything as calmly as I could. There is no major damage. There is nerve damage, but no muscular damage. They fixed me up and here I am.” He is expected to make a full recovery.

When I heard the story my mind went back to his fellow Australian Jack Newton who 

on 24 July 1983, during the height of his professional career, had a near-fatal accident when he walked into the spinning propeller of a Cessna airplane he was about to board at Sydney Airport; he was about to return to Newcastle having flown to Sydney that morning to see an AFL game.  He lost his right arm and eye and sustained severe abdominal injuries. A severe rainstorm was in progress at the time, and in addition, safety aspects near the plane were deficient.


Immediately after the accident doctors gave Newton a 50-50 chance of surviving. He spent several days in a coma and eight weeks in intensive care. After a prolonged rehabilitation from his injuries, Newton returned to public life as a television and radio golf commentator, newspaper reporter, golf course designer, public speaker and Chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation.




Bryan Angus