Sure, he's a doctor. But not the kind of doctor caring for patients who nearly sever a limb on the job.
Still, when plastic surgeon Keith Jeffords saw a man bleeding profusely in front of his office, he sprang into action. And by doing so, he likely saved the man's arm.
"It's like riding a bike. I just went into action mode," Jeffords told Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday. "It was pretty exhilarating but scary as well."
It was terrifying, too, for Filiberto Huaracha, a landscaper whose stone grinder — a power tool with a circular blade — nearly sliced part of his arm off, he told Channel 2.
"It just kept running and running until I hold it with both of my hands," Huarach said from his Grady Memorial Hospital bed Tuesday.
His co-workers couldn't stop the bleeding, and Huarach said he thought he would die, leaving his wife and four kids alone.
"And I saw that big hole, that big old cut, then I tried to put my hand, I tried to hold it and the blood was just squirting through my fingers. It was like a hose," he said.
Huarach saw a sign for a doctor's office and he ran until he nearly collapsed in front of Jeffords' office.
The plastic surgeon told the injured man he wasn't going to die. Then, he went to work, with help from his staff and even a patient, who took off his shirt to help control the flow of blood, Jeffords said.
Paramedics were called and quickly transported Huarach to Grady, where doctors were able to save his arm. He credits Jeffords with saving his life.
Huarach said he hopes he'll regain use of his arm. But he doesn't have medical insurance, so he isn't sure if he'll be able to pay for physical rehabilitation.
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