All Michael Lovett wanted from his first job was to earn a little bit of money to buy his own vehicle and other teenage luxuries. But instead of a little extra cash, an accident cost him a leg and left him walking on an artificial limb. At the age of 18, Michael had just finished high school and began working at a sawmill in Mission. He started by sorting lumber, then was offered a graveyard shift on the cleanup crew. He immediately jumped on the opportunity, and wanted to show his co-workers how good of a worker he really was. He was trained by a kid his age on cleaning the conveyer, and was basically put in this job because there was no one else. He was told to clean the conveyer while it was moving so it would take less time. He was young, and didn't think of how he might get injured or any precautions he should make. All he really cared about was the money, and what he will do with it.It was a cold rainy night and Michael was thrilled to be wearing a pair of new coveralls. He had to climb up to clean a conveyer, and when he finished he needed to jump down about six feet because there was no other way down. As he went to jump, he slipped and one of his pant legs got caught in the conveyer belt and he was dragged down the belt into the path of two blades used to slice through lumber. The blades severed his left leg but amazingly stopped when a link broke off the engine's chain and the machine stopped before his whole body was sucked in. It was 3:30 in the morning and the pouring rain was loud. Michael was screaming, but it was a half-hour before help arrived.Michael was in the hospital care for a Month. A metal rod was inserted in his left thigh. He had nine surgeries and 12 blood transfusions in total. Learning to walk with a prosthetic leg was extremely painful and time consuming. He entire life had changed; he felt as if he had lost his "youth".
