Soldier Survives Knife in Skull

Good Morning America ^ | 31 Oct 2007 | GMA

[BGHater]

Bob Woodruff Talks to an Army Sergeant With an Amazing Story of Survival

Of all the injuries in the war in Iraq, the one Sgt. Dan Powers sustained was among the most unusual.

Powers, a member of the Army's 118th MP Company Airborne, was in eastern Baghdad investigating an explosion when suddenly an Iraqi walked up to him and stabbed him in the right side of his head. He didn't know what hit him.

"It felt like someone kind of clothesline tackled me and a thump on the side of the head, like a bang," he said.

An Iraqi teenager had inched up behind Powers on a Baghdad street and plunged a 9-inch knife deep into his skull, penetrating his brain.

Powers, who did not realize he had been stabbed, reacted quickly by throwing his attacker to the ground. Sgt. Michael Riley then tackled the man and turned him over to Iraqi security forces.

"He had no idea what had really happened," said Spc. Ryan Webb, a company medic. "I did have to fight a few people off that came by and were like, 'Whoa, you've got a knife sticking out of your head.'"

Amazingly, Powers remained conscious and alert as he was rushed to a combat hospital, when he finally noticed the knife and realized the gravity of his injury.

"They kept telling me to go sit down, they didn't tell me how bad I was hurt yet," Powers said.

Miraculous Survival

Just a few hours later, doctors in Iraq prepared to take the daring but necessary action of pulling the knife out of Powers' skull -- a move they knew might kill him, and almost did.

Powers lost 2 liters of blood -- about 40 percent of the total in his body.

Back home now at Ft. Bragg, Powers and his wife Trudy are counting their blessings.

"All along I knew he would live because I know him and I know how strong a guy he is," Trudy said.

Amazingly, Powers' memory, speech and coordination are all intact.

"I have a little bit of a loss of sensation on my face due to all of it and I can't raise my right eyebrow. So I am kind of like Mr. Spock," Powers joked.

And Powers is forever grateful for the care he received from the military.

"Those are the heroes to me. They're my heroes," he said. "I am just glad to have made it when so many didn't."

[BGHater]

Sgt. Dan Powers, now 39, is a 12-year veteran of the Army and was on his second deployment to Iraq when he was injured. Stabbings are a very rare injury in the war in Iraq, and according to the Defense Department, Powers is only the second service member who has been stabbed during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This is the knife that doctors removed from Powers' head. Though the knife entered his skull and penetrated his brain, Powers' memory, speech and coordination are all intact.

Sgt. Dan Powers was stabbed in the head by an Iraqi teenager on the streets of Baghdad. The knife penetrated his brain, but amazingly Powers remained conscious and alert as he was rushed to a combat hospital.

At first, Powers did not even realize that he had been stabbed. "It felt like someone clothesline tackled me," he said. It was not until he reached the hospital that he noticed the knife and realized the extent of his injury

As soon as Powers was injured, he was rushed to a combat hospital in Balad, Iraq, where doctors prepared to remove the four-inch blade that was lodged in his head.

When Powers arrived at the hospital, doctors worried that removing the knife could cause brain damage or paralaysis -- or even kill him. When they finally pulled the knife out of his head, Powers lost about 2 liters of blood -- roughly 40 percent of the blood in his body.

Last weekend, Powers had the chance to reunite with the flight nurses that helped to save his life on the trip from Iraq to Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Here Powers is pictured with one of the nurses from the "Red 7" Medevac flight that brought him home from Iraq.

Sgt. Powers and his wife Trudy, pictured here with the flight crew that brought him home from Iraq, are grateful for their story's happy ending. "All along I knew he would live because I know him and I know how strong a guy he is," says

[SoldierMedic]

http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/powers/

[Hardastarboard]

There was a similar story in the book “What Cops Know” that I read several years ago. Some guy got stabbed in the head (I seem to remember the top of the head), but was told the doctors couldn’t remove it because of potential massive blood loss. The cop who told the story was joking about leaving it in his head, maybe getting a good barber to trim around it. The story didn’t say whether or not the victim died or not. This soldier is definitely a lucky man.

[GourmetDan]

"Sgt. Michael Riley then tackled the man and turned him over to Iraqi security forces."

Prolly back on the street already.

Hero and all that doncha know.

[BigBlueJon]

An amazing story, and close to home. He looks very much like my “little” brother. He has orders to deploy, within the next two months, back to Iraq.

[al_c]

If that's an accurate reconstruction, then it looks like he's had a head injury before too.

Glad to see he made it through this one.

[mysterio]

Wow. That is one tough soldier.

[RichInOC]

I don’t know what’s more frightening...that he got stabbed in the side of the skull, or that the knife apparently didn’t hit anything really vital.

Seriously, thank God. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dan “Mongo” Powers.

[armymarinemom]

Can you imagine what went through the Iraqi’s mind as Sgt. Powers tackled him instead of falling dead? I hope he wet him man jammies.

[DejaJude]

Powers, who did not realize he had been stabbed, reacted quickly by throwing his attacker to the ground.

Wow! The attacker must have thought he was up against a super human.

[Para-Ord.45]

that`s attempted murder,

the perp should be executed.

[2banana]

Good - now get out and do some PT

[Red6]

What a story to tell the grandkids someday!

“Yea, and there I was........ on top of the bad guy with a 9 inch knife in my skull.”

Dude’s a hero. It’s people like this that make the US military what it is. I’m happy for him and his wife.

[dennisw]

The perp should have been wasted on the spot. Looks like he’s in custody which is bull crap

[DejaJude]

Seriously, thank God. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dan “Mongo” Powers.

More like Dan "The Terminator" Powers. Just keeps on coming at you.

[dennisw]

Stabber should have been dispatched to his fraudulent Allah. This is idiocy

[DejaJude]

The perp should have been wasted on the spot. Looks like he’s in custody which is bull crap

The Iraqis have him. They might not be so worried about how they make him talk.

[Between the Lines]

Excellant video. Thanks for the link!

[Cailleach]

This is the story I told you about a couple of weeks ago.

[Aquinasfan]

"All along I knew he would live because I know him and I know how strong a guy he is," Trudy said.

Wow!

Amazingly, Powers' memory, speech and coordination are all intact.

Absolutely. But I've read of even more amazing brain-injury survival stories. I read of one case where a tumor had grown to occupy something like 70% of a man's brain cavity. His brain had been squashed against the edges of his skull. Yet he showed no signs of ill health.

The fact that the brain is so unimaginably complex is proof enough of a Designer, but for such a complex thing to survive such abuse? How anyone can believe that the human brain could have arisen by chance is beyond reason.