'I remember my feet folding up, hot dog-style'
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SEATTLE -- A couple months ago, a Boeing worker nearly lost his life when he was trapped under a 787 at Paine Field. But Wednesday, a milestone in his recovery as he was released from Harborview Medical Center.
Josh Divers has a smile that lights up the room. And behind the grin is a compelling story of tragedy and resilience.
"The outside two tires caught my feet. I don't know how.. I don't even know what happened..but I remember my feet kind of folding up hot dog style," Divers said.
For 40 long minutes, Divers was stuck under a mammoth 787.
"Incredible, burning.. Just horrible pain," Divers said.
But instead of giving up, he fought.
" 'My hips are trapped! My hips are trapped! My femur just broke! My femur just broke!' -- Kind of repeating everything over and over again at the top of my lungs... so they knew what was going on and I had a release of pain just by yelling."
Josh says a forklift was used to lift a 35,000-pound engine block and moments later he was free.
But now as a double amputee, Divers will always have the battle scars. But father Del says Josh won the war.
"Josh is still intact," Del Divers said. "He doesn't have his legs and he has a different way he has to go about life. But life is still there and I just praise God for that."
Now it's time for Josh Divers to go home and begin the fight to gain back a little piece of life many of us take for granted.
"It's definitely going to be nice to be out of the hospital environment for a bit," he said. "But I really want to come back and learn how to walk."
Divers says Boeing has given him and his family all the support they've needed. He says he'd love to go back to work for the company some day.
Josh Divers has a smile that lights up the room. And behind the grin is a compelling story of tragedy and resilience.
"The outside two tires caught my feet. I don't know how.. I don't even know what happened..but I remember my feet kind of folding up hot dog style," Divers said.
For 40 long minutes, Divers was stuck under a mammoth 787.
"Incredible, burning.. Just horrible pain," Divers said.
But instead of giving up, he fought.
" 'My hips are trapped! My hips are trapped! My femur just broke! My femur just broke!' -- Kind of repeating everything over and over again at the top of my lungs... so they knew what was going on and I had a release of pain just by yelling."
Josh says a forklift was used to lift a 35,000-pound engine block and moments later he was free.
But now as a double amputee, Divers will always have the battle scars. But father Del says Josh won the war.
"Josh is still intact," Del Divers said. "He doesn't have his legs and he has a different way he has to go about life. But life is still there and I just praise God for that."
Now it's time for Josh Divers to go home and begin the fight to gain back a little piece of life many of us take for granted.
"It's definitely going to be nice to be out of the hospital environment for a bit," he said. "But I really want to come back and learn how to walk."
Divers says Boeing has given him and his family all the support they've needed. He says he'd love to go back to work for the company some day.
