A Story Of A Man, An Oil Rig -- And A Frankenstein Moment

Working atop an oil rig in Texas can be intense, difficult and sometimes dangerous. David Jacobs, a 29-year-old from Corpus Christi , was in his third week on the rig, near Odessa, when he found out just how dangerous working on an oil rig can be.

On this mild day in February, just like the day before, David donned his work boots, hardhat and pulled on his leather gloves. Later that day, David's name was added to a long list of oil field injuries.

His gloves were removed from his hands but inside one of the gloves was David's right thumb, sheared from his hand at the base of his palm. David and his thumb (which was packed in ice) were soon flown to University Medical Center of El Paso. 

Within minutes of his arrival, David headed into incredibly complex surgery to bring life back to his thumb, where it belonged, back on David's hand.
 
Production Team:
Writer and host: Ryan Mielke, Director of Public Affairs, University Medical Center of El Paso
Audio engineer: Diego Muniz, Manager of Video and Audio Production, University Medical Center of El Paso

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