A Massachusetts woman survived after being buried alive and having less than a two percent chance of survival.
Ashley Piccirilli, 35, nearly died in May 2021 after being buried alive at a construction site in Northampton, about 20 miles north of Springfield.
‘If you had known you could have died in that hole, would you have panicked? Maybe. “I literally didn’t think she could die,” Piccirilli said. WesternMassNews.
The Air Force veteran was barely a week into her new construction job when an earthen wall collapsed.
One of the side walls of the trench collapsed, trapping her under thousands of pounds of dirt, about six feet.
Ashley Piccirilli, 35, nearly died in May 2021 after being buried alive at a construction site in Northampton, about 20 miles north of Springfield.
“At first, it just felt like when a friend comes to meet you and gives you that bear hug and it’s a little awkward and you don’t really like it and that’s all it feels like,” Piccirilli told the local media outlet. .
And he added: ‘They know where I am. They’re coming to get me, so I stayed calm through the whole thing…breathed very, very little.
“I couldn’t breathe deeply because there was no room for my lungs to expand because the dirt was built up.”
It took about 30 minutes to free Piccirilli using an excavator and his hands.
She had broken ribs, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding.
It took about 30 minutes to free Piccirilli using an excavator and his hands. She had broken ribs, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding.
The Air Force veteran was barely a week into her new construction job when a wall collapsed.
Dr. Kristina Kramer, a trauma surgeon at Baystate Medical Center, told WesternMassNews that Piccirilli was bleeding to death when he arrived at the hospital and that his chances of survival were slim to none.
Piccirilli was bleeding so much that doctors could hear him, something doctors call “audible hearing,” Kramer explained.
During his first surgery, his heart stopped but doctors were able to restart it.
Piccitilli spent the next 30 days in the hospital, but is now back home and thriving.
He returned to flight school and is now a pilot at Barnes Air National Guard Base.
Piccitilli spent the next 30 days in the hospital, but is now back home and thriving.
He returned to flight school and is now a pilot at Barnes Air National Guard Base.
“The reason he survived is because of his physical and mental strength and the teamwork of all the different people who were involved in his care – it’s never just one person,” Dr. Kramer said.
‘For trauma in particular, there are many different pieces that must work together seamlessly, from pre-hospital providers, to emergency department and operating room teams, to the care team in post-surgery units, to rehabilitation and home care. .
“Everyone came together.”
