BRADENTON, Fla. -- A Bradenton man ended up in an emergency room after moving pool furniture around his patio.
"I was stunned. I had been lifted off my feet by this wind and when I came up, my jaw hurt," said Charles Lee.
Charles Lee said he was moving a lounger near his pool when a gust of wind knocked him off his feet. He ended up in the pool and the leg of the chair pierced his throat.
Doctors said it missed the main artery in his neck by about two centimeters.
"The doctor just couldn't believe I was in this situation," said Lee.
A thunderstorm was moving closer and Lee started adjusting the furniture around the pool.
"At some point during the fall, probably when I hit the water, my neck was impaled and lacerated by the legs on this lounger," said Lee.
Luckily, the accident happened while his wife was home with a group of friends. One of their friends is a nurse and she applied pressure to the wound until paramedics arrived.
"I have a couple guardian angels looking over me. That's in fact what the ER doctor said too," said Lee.
Lee was taken to Doctors Hospital of Sarasota ER in Lakewood Ranch.
He needed more than 12 stitches. He is taking antibiotics.
"They were concerned about infection and they gave me a tetanus shot. It was obviously a fairly rusted piece of metal," said Lee.
Lee wanted to share his story so others are cautious. He never imagined something like this could happen.
"[The wind] had the power to lift me, 200-plus pounds, plus a 10-15 pound lounger like a rag doll and into the pool," said Lee.
Lee had a doctor's visit on Wednesday.
"I am standing here today, 5 days later, and on a healing process right now," said Lee.
