The Minnesota man surprised his family when he spent 100 hours trapped under a fallen tree — and survived.
Jonathan Cheplecha, 59, was chopping trees behind a house in Redwood Falls on August 27, when a huge oak tree collapsed and the «lumberjack» was trapped.
His son Miles said that both of his father's legs — which had broken a tree — were trapped under a motionless log. Jonathan was in incredible pain, but without a phone he could not call for help. For the next four days, the 59-year-old man survived by feeding on plants and insects, and drinking his own sweat and rainwater collected on his clothes.
Miles shared his dad's wonderful survival story on the GoFundMe page. He is sure that the man managed to maintain his sanity in an extreme situation, breaking every day into hours, and every hour into five-minute intervals.
While trapped, his religious father often prayed and tried not to panic by meditating and inventing rituals to be followed every hour.
Relatives became worried when Jonathan stopped answering phone calls and did not show up for work. On August 31, his ex-wife came to see the man — and, seeing what happened, immediately called the sheriff's office. It took the authorities almost two hours to rescue Jonathan from under the tree, and after his release he was taken to a hospital where he is now recovering.
Jonathan underwent surgery, and Miles said both of his legs would probably be saved, although his father had a long road ahead of him.
