A farmer has been forced to ride his motorbike holding his head upright by his hair after falling and breaking his neck on a property at West Gippsland.
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The 73-year-old was reportedly checking his farm for grasshoppers early December when he hit a small hollow and "went sailing over his handlebars," landing on his head and breaking his neck.
A friend of the man told radio station 3AW said the farmer rode 500 metres to his house to get help after "realising he was still alive".
The beef farmer, identified only as Jim, told 3AW he cracked his head, but wasn't knocked out by the fall.
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“I got to my feet, I knew there was something seriously wrong," he said. “My head wouldn’t stay up. The pain, it hurt so much, so I just held it up by my hair.”
He was taken first to the Dandenong hospital, then transferred to the Austin, where doctors confirmed he had fractured his top two verterbrae, C1 and C2 - considered one of the most severe spinal cord injuries.
Jim said he had a "halo" and four bolts in his skull but doctors expected him to make a full recovery.
"I'm a lucky fella, that's for sure," he said.
