Staff writer
Chris Hammond of Marion is alive and recovering well after he was pinned under his car on March 15 and spent two days in intensive care at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
The car was up on ramps, and Hammond was trying to remove the motor mounts when he accidentally hit the linkage and took the car out of park. It rolled down the ramps and pinned him under the engine.
Thankfully, his wife, Lanissa, was there. She was able to talk briefly with him before he passed out, and she screamed for help. A neighbor heard and sent her husband over. Using a floor jack, Lanissa was able to raise the car off her husband, and the neighbor saw him gasp for air.
Lanissa called 911. The EMTs were there in less than five minutes, she said.
They transported him to St. Luke Hospital, from where he was airlifted to Wichita and put in intensive care.
He regained consciousness the next morning.
“I was surprised when I woke up,” he said. “The doctor thought I would be brain dead. I have a lot of bruising and a fractured vertebra in my lower back, but other than that, I’m good. I have good days and bad days. Today I’m feeling sore.”
He was released to go home directly out of intensive care Thursday evening.
Hammond credits his wife’s quick thinking and the many prayers that were offered for his recovery.
His mother, Virginia Hammond, recruited everyone she knew to pray for him.
“If it weren’t for Lanissa, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “Lanissa and God are the heroes of the day. If I had to do it all over again, I would do everything the same, but I would chuck the rear wheels.
Looking on the bright side, he said, “I don’t have to go to work, and I get to spend time with Lanissa. Any time I get to spend time with her is good.”