A Wallowa Forest Products employee had his left hand severed Aug. 20 while working at the hula saw in the planer mill.

The hand of Phil Lindsley, 28, of Wallowa, was retrieved and attached surgically at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.

“It looks positive at this time,” said sawmill spokesman John Redfield. Redfield said that Lindsley lost a lot of blood but was scheduled for additional surgery.

Lindsley’s father, Len Lindsley, said that his son’s blood count must come up before he can be operated on again to connect nerves and tendons.

Doctors plan to do that surgery in another two weeks with a chance of regaining feeling in his hand in about six months.

He was working about 3 p.m. when he reached to clear a board hangup and inadvertently bumped the switch that activated the saw. The hand was severed and landed in a conveyor headed toward the chipper. Quick action by another planer employee, Guy Journout, saved the hand from the chipper. It was packed in ice and flown with Lindsley to Portland.

Redfield said his planer employees acted promptly and beneficially during the incident. He cited Glen Guillory, Journout, Travis Weston, Darrin Weaver, Jim Morgan, Kelly Guentert, John Dibler and Dana Shelton for their efforts.

He said an EMT was on site within 11/2 minutes and that the ambulance arrived shortly thereafter.

Because of bad weather in the Wallowa Valley, Lindsley was driven to La Grande, then flown to OHSU in Portland by Air Life of Oregon.

Len Lindsley said his son might be released from OHSU until the next surgery.