Dad's hopper horror tale

A Dargaville man who survived life-threatening injuries after he was caught in a fertiliser hopper will feature in a  television documentary  profiling "the other side" of plastic surgery and his  recovery from the brink of death.
Last October, agricultural contractor Jason Williamson was inside his running hopper washing it out, a task he had done  many times before, when his boot got caught in the chain conveyor mechanism.  Dragged in and trapped by the chain, his left leg was broken in two places and shredded  from the ankle to the groin.
Fortunately for the 35-year-old,  his two brothers and friends heard his screams and were able to switch off the machine but, even with the Jaws of Life, his rescuers were unable to free him.
Friends  rushed to town, grabbing cutting tools off  store shelves in the race  to free the heavily bleeding but still conscious man.
After 45 minutes, friends and rescuers armed with a sabre-tooth saw cut Mr Williamson free and he was flown by  rescue helicopter to Whangarei before being transferred to the burns unit at Middlemore Hospital.
His wife Helena, heavily pregnant with the couple's second child, had been visiting her mother in Auckland and raced to the hospital to hold her husband's hand only a few minutes before he was whisked away into intensive care.
"His hand was so cold and still, it was a surreal moment, like he was there but he wasn't,"  Helena said.
The documentary features  footage of the extensive  surgeries  Mr Williamson has had to endure since and highlights plastic surgery away from the cosmetic,  glamorous image with which it is often associated. 
"We were asked by plastic surgeon Murray Beagley if the 20/20 team could film the operation," said his mother, Bronwyn. "We agreed if it didn't compromise Jason in any way and it could be used to highlight or assist the medical profession and rescue services in anyway." 
 Mr Williamson has continued to progress through  medical surgeries, reconstruction and three plastic surgeries, the largest a 13-hour ordeal to remove a large muscle from his back to "wrap around" his leg.
Mr Williamson said his family had helped him  through  and he was  looking forward to getting his life back in order and focusing on his business.
"I don't think about the accident much. I'm focussing on getting my life back to normal."
His wife said with the new baby coming Mr Williamson had hung on to life and was able to come home in December. Ryan was born in February and the family have watched  Mr Williamson make steady progress each day.
Little by little he has returned to work and, while still limited by mobility, he is able to get on  with business.
* Plastic Fantastic features on 20/20 tomorrow at 9.30pm on TV2.