Dad Miraculously Survives Being Impaled by Pole After Falling Off Ladder

An Illinois father survived a terrifying accident after falling off a ladder and getting impaled by a steel pole that pierced his chest and neck. Though he’s alive, his family says he faces months of recovery.

The accident happened on Sunday, Nov. 16, on Carter Road in Coulterville. First responders rushed to the scene after reports of a man who had fallen from a ladder and landed on a steel rod, which ended up in his neck, according to Southern Illinois Fire Incidents.

John Davis, 45, was identified by his wife of 22 years, Tammy Davis, in an interview with ABC affiliate WFAA. The couple had been in their barn gathering tin for a home project when the soil shifted under the ladder John was using, causing him to fall.

“I saw him fall,” Tammy said. “I went over to try and pick him up and he was like, ‘It’s in me.’ I wasn’t understanding, and I got a look at his face and I could see the thing bulging through his neck.”

John’s stepdaughter, Christine James, created a GoFundMe to help cover medical costs. She explained that the pole “impaled him from his right side under his shoulder and through to the left side of his neck.” The fall also broke seven ribs, punctured a lung, and caused internal damage.

Emergency responders cut John free from the pole and life-flighted him to a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, where he underwent emergency surgery. “It’s just a miracle from God. I had the whole church group praying right away,” James, an ER nurse, told WFAA. “It missed his spinal cord, it missed his heart, his major vessels. It missed everything besides the ribs and the lung.”

Despite surviving the initial trauma, John developed pneumonia and an acute kidney injury, according to a Nov. 18 update on GoFundMe. He had to be placed back on oxygen and will require a chest tube longer than expected. Still, he’s making small strides: he can bathe and work with a physical therapist to walk around and sit in a chair rather than staying in bed.

James described her parents as “extremely hardworking, humble people” who aren’t used to asking for help. With medical bills, Life Flight expenses, and the couple currently unable to work, the family is leaning on the community for support.

“We are unbelievably grateful that he is still with us,” James wrote, “but the road ahead is going to be tough — physically, emotionally, and financially.”

Even amid the ordeal, the family is finding moments of relief and joy. Tammy shared an update on Nov. 16, saying John survived with “no other major damages” besides the injured lung. “He is heavily drugged but still cracking his jokes,” she wrote. “God is good.”