At first, the pain didn’t register with Shiloh Binder.

His hand was inside a meat grinder trying to remove something that was gumming up the blades. He was about to unplug it when the Prineville teen felt the blades start to move. The next thing he knew his 5-foot-11 inch frame was on tiptoes and he was stuck up to his armpit.

His face was pressed into the side of the machine.

He had done the same technique before, safely. He had stuck his hand in to remove whatever was blocking the blade. He had used the same machine.

In a split second, the meat grinder chewed up his right hand and part of his forearm.

“I was pulling out meat so I could feed it again, but my finger caught the auger and sucked my whole arm all the way in,” Binder recalled, less than two weeks later. “My buddy reached in and shut off the machine and we were both freaking out a bit.

“You can never imagine yourself being in that situation.”

But this is Binder. The same teenager who with his sister, Mariah, and a friend, helped rescue an injured hiker a week into their trek on the Pacific Crest Trail, from Cascade Locks to Elk Lake in 2020. At the time, Binder was 15.

It’s the same young man who hiked alone on 460 miles of the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019. He was 14 at the time.

The same teenager who graduated from high school early and is not only living on his own, but trying to buy his own home. He celebrated his 18th birthday on Friday.

“Shiloh has not once cried. Gotten scared. He has been brave,” said his mom, Laura Binder, 46. “He’s been positive and upbeat this entire time. As his mother, I am beyond proud.”

It happened about 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 11, Shiloh Binder said. He was at his job on a farm outside of Prineville, working with others to grind about 300 pounds of beef, he said. He remembers a lot from the moment. The story tumbles out of him fast and calm.

His arm was stuck in the machine for three hours.

His buddies called 911 when they realized they couldn’t get Binder out of the grinder. As the minutes ticked by while he waited for emergency crews, Binder called his mom.

Then he called his girlfriend. His face was still pressed against the machine.

“I stood there freaking out a bit and praying mostly,” Binder said. “As the first ambulance arrived and then the emergency medical team and a ladder truck arrived, we were all praying.”

‘I realize it was an accident’

It would take several hours for crews to figure out how best to free him.

There’s no room in Binder’s world for blame.

“I have replayed the event a hundred times,” Binder said. “There’s obviously things that could have been done differently. But at the end of the day, I realize it was an accident.”

One of the firefighters who responded was Jordan Fanning, a Crook County Fire and Rescue first responder trained for emergencies like this. He knew of the Bend Fire & Rescue team with similar training that also included other types of farm and industrial equipment. The Crook County first responders decided to call in the team from Bend and a doctor in Prineville to help Binder.

An hour later, the Bend team arrived and they all decided on a plan: Use a saw to cut the machine in half with Shiloh still in it. The doctor arrived soon after coming with additional firefighters in their rig.

Bend Fire & Rescue sent specialists Capt. Mitch Webb and Engineer David Keller, said Battalion Chief. Scott Wyman. They’re trained to ensure they can remove a victim in a variety of situations without creating further harm, Wyman said.

While the emergency responders prepared, someone reached out to an orthopedic doctor from the St. Charles Surgical Specialists in Prineville. The doctor also brought an anesthesiologist to the farm to help give Binder heavy doses of intravenous pain medication. Dr. David Carne, who knew the Binder family for 20 years, was the doctor on scene, said Laura Binder.

First responders double checked that the machine was not connected to power. Firefighters then used a power saw to cut the machine in half. They had to be careful not to cut Binder or burn him with the hot blade.

“They couldn’t get to his arm because he was in up to his shoulder,” Carne said. “Once they got his arm out, I could put a tourniquet on to stop the bleeding.”

Emergency medical teams and Carne rushed the teen to St. Charles Prineville where he was airlifted to Bend for surgery.

“He’s an exceptional young man,” Carne said. “I hope that he can continue using the arm. This was a unique situation where we had time to trouble shoot.”

The power of community

Laura Binder still is in awe how all the help came together for her son.

“I thought the traumatic part was going to be him getting hurt, but it was getting the machine apart,” she said. “Shiloh was explaining to the rescue crews where the tools were and directing everyone.”

Her son said there was a reason for that.

“I was doing that so I wouldn’t pass out from the pain,” he said. “It was amazing the strength I had during this whole thing. I lost my whole arm. I have four inches below my elbow. “

Throughout the emergency, Binder kept praying. It’s how he was raised his faith gave him courage.

Now, the family is looking back at how a community came together to help.

Some of the members of the rescue team were family friends. Friends have taken care of Binder’s cows and chickens. Another took care of his dog. Someone else went by his cabin and took down the holiday lights.

“My faith has really helped me through this whole thing,” said Binder. “I believe I wouldn’t have been able to do the Pacific Crest Trail all my myself. Before this, that was one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve done in my life.”

Laura Binder said that since her son was little, she’s always known she had to let him try things, even if every parenting manual suggested he was too young. When he was 10, he hiked alone. When he was 11 he’d go on bike trails alone.

“I always knew he was different. He was made for things like this. I let him do things that most people wouldn’t let a child that age do or use,” she said. “I had to. You want your children to lead a life well-lived.”

Sixteen days after the accident, Binder’s progress amazes those around him and includes learning to pull a bowstring with his teeth so he can hold and shoot an arrow with his his left arm. The stitches in his right arm have only been out for a few days.

He’s still in a lot of pain. He said that he can feel sharp pain in his right palm. He’ll look down and see that it’s not there, but the pain feels real.

Within the first week after the accident, Alex St. Louis, a vice president at Evergreen Prosthetics and Orthotics, met with Binder and his mom. St. Louis’s best friend is the uncle of Binder’s girlfriend.

He talked about prosthetics and the phantom pain that occurs after traumatic events, said Alex St. Louis. The nerve endings are firing and are looking for the limb, St. Louis said. The pain does get better.

St. Louis knows this personally. Ten years ago, his right leg was amputated below the knee and he walks with a prosthetic device. He’s a testament to the fact that Binder can return to the ranching life or any other physical activity he wants.

“When I met Shiloh, I was blown away by his spirit and his ability to smile. It was impressive at his age,” St. Louis said. “What I do is paint a picture for the patient. Each patient has a different journey along the same path. An amputee’s scariest path is the unknown and I try to fill in those gaps.”

Healing from a traumatic event like this can take months or weeks, said St. Louis said. Once Binder’s wound heals, he can be fitted for a prosthetic device in two to six weeks, he said.

Since the accident, time has been moving slowly for Binder. He’s not used to sitting still. His church and his family have been supporting him emotionally with games and activities.

Faith is a part of every conversation.

“In a few months it should all take shape,” Binder said. “It’s a weird thing to lose a limb. It changes you. I do believe that with time and training and relearning, I can do something.”

Shiloh Binder has a wish list, from brain puzzlers to disability items, on an Amazon. Search for  “Loving on Shiloh.” The family is also accepting direct donations to help with medical costs and new career training. Mail checks to 1050 NE Peters Road Apt. 128, Prineville, OR 97754.