00:00My name is William Sayers. I come from the village of Dunhamana, near outside Strabane.
00:0647 years of age, Maite Lane, and three girls, Lydia, 18, Grace, 15 and Beth, 13.
00:14I went to Artie Garden Primary School from early education and then left there in 1988
00:20and went to Strabane High School and then from 1988 to 1993, done my five years there and left
00:27home to the farm for a year but due to the accident I received from the farm when I was 12 that all changed.
00:34And I got myself a job in 1994 with D&M Farm Services and that's where I am to this present day, 31 years later.
00:44So you're passionate about farm safety. Do you want to tell us about what happened to you when you were 12?
00:49Yeah, it was the 16th of April in 1990, putting out Shlory on the family farm.
00:54And early in the day my father told me the do's and the don'ts and what to do and what not to do
00:59and make sure everything was safe. And what happened was I came to a party at night
01:04and my mother called us in for tea and I went in, sat around the table and had a nice salad prepared for us.
01:10And I had a friend, Jonathan McLaughlin, who was 16 years of age and he was helping me.
01:14So he finished his salad first and then I finished mine after.
01:19And it was getting cold and wet and got out past the window and my mother told me to come back
01:24and put on a coat, which I did do, but didn't bother zipping it up.
01:28And I ran on out afterwards. Jonathan had had everything up and running.
01:32And my father told me of the things not to go near and one of the things was near the PAO shaft
01:38and other moving parts. So he was safety conscious.
01:41But the tanker was taken forever to fill and I thought I would do some investigations around the tanker.
01:48And I found at the front of the tanker that the regulator wasn't working to my placement
01:52which lubricates the vacuum pump to create the suction to suck the slurry into the tanker.
01:56And I thought I would alter it and I'm doing so.
02:00There was a two inch gap at the front of the vacuum pump and my loose clothing came entangled with the PDO shaft
02:05resulting in me losing my right arm.
02:08You must have been in a lot of shock at the time. What do you do in that situation?
02:16Well, when I was lying on the ground I could see Jonathan running away from me and I thought it was all over.
02:20I thought actually I was dying at this stage.
02:22And I made some attempts to get up onto my feet.
02:26Slid off the PDO shaft and got up onto my feet and looked down and there was only socks and underwear on.
02:31And I remember looking round to my right and could see my arm lying on the ground.
02:36I remember then putting my hand up to the side of my face because I couldn't see my right eye.
02:40And I realised at that time as I thought I'd lost the sight of the eye as well.
02:44And the words of my father that told me earlier on the day not to go near PDO shafts or moving parts
02:50came back to haunt me because I had disobeyed him.
02:54I had done what he told me not to do.
02:56And this was the consequences.
02:58I made my way over to the house.
03:00My sister was looking out the window and she says Daddy Williams, coming up the street with only one arm.
03:04And he came running out and he met me.
03:08And we got into the car and as we reversed the car back out of the drive I could see my mother standing at the door with an expression that will never disappear from me to the day I could die.
03:18What has happened?
03:19Unrecognisable.
03:20Covered in blood and slurry.
03:22A mess.
03:23Undescribable.
03:24I made my way to Attenagalvin Hospital and on my way there my father couldn't see any blood coming into the wound.
03:31And he was panicking.
03:33He said if you're not bleeding outwardly you must be bleeding inwardly.
03:37And he was of the impression that I would possibly pass away shortly in the car with him.
03:43But his intention was to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
03:47Of which we did do.
03:49We were there fairly soon.
03:51But in the meantime back at the house my sister Jane went out and lifted the arm and brought it into the house.
03:55And set the arm in the table.
03:58And went down and got vegetables out of the freezer and a towel.
04:02And wrapped my arm in the towel and she made her way to Attenagalvin Hospital as well.
04:07Because she was advised by a nurse if this was ever to happen this is what you do.
04:11And she was very wise in doing that.
04:14Obviously they weren't able to do anything with the arm.
04:18Yeah the arm was tore like a page.
04:20It was tore off.
04:21It wasn't a clean cut.
04:22But believe it or not in the way it came off it sealed all the blood vessels and removed all the nerves.
04:27And diverted the blood into the body wherever it had to go which was in itself a miracle.
04:31Which left me with no loss of blood and no pain.
04:34And I was very thankful for that as well.
04:37And so how long were you in the hospital for then?
04:40I was in the hospital for just two weeks.
04:42That's not very long.
04:43It's not very long.
04:44I had no skin on my back when the shaft took off my arm.
04:48She took all the skin off my back as well.
04:50And I was as I said unrecognisable.
04:53But the medical team in the Ulster Hospital done a fantastic job.
04:56And two weeks later I was back.
04:59And then two days after that I was back at the slurry again.
05:04And you might say what were you trying to do?
05:06Lose your other arm?
05:07But no.
05:08I wanted to prove I was hindered but not defeated.
05:10But it would somewhat be different with one arm.
05:13And that's when I really appreciated what I had.
05:16And it hit home then what I really lost.
05:19So how does a 12 year old come to terms with that?
05:22How do you start to pick up your life again?
05:24I was very blessed.
05:26I never had any problems mentally.
05:28My mother and father both were great counsellors.
05:32They were counsellors in a way that I didn't understand.
05:34They were counselling me.
05:35They were always very positive.
05:37And we're no strangers to a farming accident.
05:40Because my father lost his leg at the age of two in the field.
05:42A corn with his mother.
05:44She was out tying corn.
05:45And the horse reaper came along and removed his left leg.
05:48Blew the knee.
05:49And he lost a brother at 25 years of age as well.
05:53So they had come across adversity before.
05:56And for me they were able to deal with it very well.
05:59And helped me through it.
06:00So I never had any problems.
06:02But I can tell you it's not always like that.
06:04There's a lot of people just their world falls apart.
06:09And it's never the same again.
06:11So you're an ambassador for the Farm Safety Partnership?
06:15That's correct.
06:16What does that involve?
06:17Well it just involves telling my story.
06:19And trying to promote farm safety to the max.
06:24And for me losing the iron was one thing.
06:27But I can't get the iron back again.
06:30So what can I do to help someone else not go through the same thing as I went through?
06:35And my intentions is to tell my story far and wide as best I can.
06:39To all the farmers who come in contact with.
06:41And for those who want to listen to the story.
06:43That they will not have a farm accident the same as I had.
06:49And that's what I'm trying to put across.
06:52Do you counsel young people maybe that have been involved themselves in accidents?
06:56Absolutely.
06:57And that can be from motorbike accidents to road accidents.
07:03To people even with one particular chap who lost his arm to cancer.
07:08So yes I do.
07:09And there's great satisfaction in that for me too.
07:12So there is because it's lovely to help someone.
07:15And they can't see the good in it.
07:18But I'm there to try and help them and say it's not the end of the world.
07:21Let's travel on this journey together.
07:23And that's my intention is to try and help people.
07:26You say that your family had already been involved with accidents.
07:30And so obviously they're very farm safe aware.
07:33But it just shows you how in a split second the most careful person can still have an accident.
07:38Yeah.
07:40What I can say to you Ruth is that these accidents will still happen.
07:45Accidents always will happen.
07:47But my whole intention is to try and reduce the accidents happening.
07:50And some people are coming across to me and say well you weren't too farm safety aware when you lost an arm.
07:56Your father lost a leg and an uncle had killed.
07:58But my father's brother was out in the field.
08:02There was no roll bar in the tractor.
08:04The tractor flipped over and tragically killed him.
08:07That was just an accident.
08:08And that's what you did.
08:09There was no roll bars then.
08:11My father was two years of age and I was twelve.
08:14Yes.
08:15And I've been to yards where I've preached my story.
08:18And I've seen farming accidents happen as well.
08:20So they will happen.
08:22But what we're trying to do is reduce them.
08:24And the stress that farmers are under today is immense.
08:29The help's very limited.
08:31So therefore, you know, they're doing a very, very difficult task and a busy task.
08:38And sometimes this is where the accidents do happen.
08:40It's a lack of time.
08:41Absolutely.
08:42And they don't have the time because just the jobs are getting more busier and they're
08:48more paperwork.
08:49And, you know, they're vets, they're accountants, they're bank managers, they're fencers,
08:55they're milking cows, they're calving cows.
08:57It's just there's nobody else actually out there would do what they do.
09:01So all I'm trying to do is to tell them, and if there's no farmers, I have no job.
09:06So I have to look after the farmers because it's them that keeps me going from day to day.
09:10So that's why I'm trying.
09:12It's a team effort.
09:13And let's all work together to try and reduce them.
09:16So what do you think the main issue is about farm safety?
09:19Is that people aren't just taking that minute to think about what they're about to do?
09:23Well, you know, for me, that was a bit of a glass load.
09:26And, you know, as if maybe I went back into the house and sat down, it wouldn't have happened.
09:32But it could have happened the next day as well.
09:34But I'm just saying to you, from what I say, is try and take a wee bit more time, you know,
09:38just to focus on what they're doing.
09:41And that can make all the difference.
09:44You know, if the shaft's not there, put a cover on it.
09:47It's easier to get the cover than it is for meeting an arm.
09:49So that's the sort of message I'm trying to put across here.
09:53You know, just look for the risks.
09:56Tanks lying open, make sure there's protection and there's covers over them.
10:00Common sense, believe it or not.
10:02It's a lot to do with common sense.
10:04So there's a big conference tomorrow.
10:07You're involved in that.
10:08That's correct, yeah.
10:09The Yellow Wellies Foundation and the NFU.
10:13It's sort of like a partnership.
10:15And again, mental health's a big part of it as well.
10:17So, yes.
10:18And they've asked me to tell my story of which I'm delighted.
10:21And, you know, if I can make a difference in some one person's life, I count it worth it.
10:27Your positive attitude just flows out of you.
10:31How do you stay?
10:32What's behind your positivity?
10:34Well, I've always looked at the bottles half full.
10:37But unfortunately, it's not always the case.
10:40So therefore, someone listening to the story today,
10:42please don't say that it's always, I'm on top of the mountain.
10:45Because there'll be days, you'll be in the valleys as well.
10:48But in general, I'm always bottles half full.
10:52But I would love to come alongside people who just struggle.
10:56Because when I lost my arm, it could have affected me mentally.
11:00It didn't.
11:01But as I say, that's not always the case.
11:03I'm not painting a rosy picture here.
11:06My father was very positive.
11:08My mother was very positive.
11:09So that helped me through it.
11:10But I have to say, there's a lot of sad cases out there.
11:13And we don't see it.
11:15We only hear about the fatalities.
11:17We never see the other accidents.
11:19Absolutely.
11:20And you know, for me, for my father,
11:22he'd built up this business.
11:24For me to step in, Ruth.
11:26And it wasn't the case.
11:28And his plans were shelved as well.
11:30So it's a bigger picture.
11:32It's a bigger mess as well.
11:33It's not only me.
11:34It affects the whole family.
11:35And the future as well, for years to come.
11:38Do you do any farming now?
11:40I don't do so much.
11:42No, I just, I go about and I keep an eye on the wire.
11:47And maybe the fields to make sure the drains aren't busted.
11:50Or maybe that type of thing, you know.
11:52If I was being honest with you,
11:54I wasn't farming my tail either, I would say.
11:57But it was built up for me to step into.
11:58So therefore, I'd carry it on.
12:00But where I am now selling machinery for 31 years,
12:03this is what I love.
12:04And this is what I enjoy doing.
12:06And meeting people every day.
12:08And you know, it's a door closed, but a better one opened.
12:11And that's how I saw it.
12:12Your faith plays a big part in your life too.
12:14Absolutely.
12:15I would say, you know, that's when you go through that,
12:18you would have to question, wasn't I,
12:20fortune to survive.
12:21So yes, my faith definitely plays a big part.
12:25And I don't, I'm not ashamed of that either.
12:28I'm very pleased to say that it keeps me going from day to day.
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