Bay of Plenty runner loses leg in farming accident: ‘I heard all my bones break’

A Bay of Plenty runner who lost his leg in a farming accident has described the moment he became trapped by a piece of machinery and “heard all my bones break”.

Sjors Corporaal, 47, was working alone on a farm in Galatea when the accident happened on May 29. He was digging a hole using a cat loader and had to do some by hand.

“While the cat loader was parked on a bit of an angle, I put one leg back in between this concrete pad and a loader and it decided to roll forward.”

Sjors Corporaal lost his leg in an accident in May 2024 and has a prosthetic leg. Photo / Megan Wilson

His leg was “crushed” and he was trapped for almost an hour. The pain was “the worst thing ever”.

“I heard all my bones break.”

His phone was within reach, and he called 111.

Bones ‘like Weet-Bix’

Corporaal was flown to Rotorua Hospital where he spent one week.

The “shattered” bones in his leg were “like Weet-Bix”, he said.

“They had to try and put it back together and then put a rod through it to hold it all in place.”

Corporaal was transferred to Waikato Hospital, where surgeons tried to save his leg for about a month.

“They had to keep debriding. Every three days, I’d go back into surgery ... the flesh was just dying. So they had to keep cutting more off.”

Corporaal said “a big bit of muscle” was taken from the side of his body and put over his shin which “didn’t take hold”.

His right leg below his knee was amputated on July 5.

Corporaal met Matthew Bryson - the national peer support and events co-ordinator for Peke Waihanga Artificial Limb Service - shortly after his amputation.

Bryson spoke out last year about his “horrific” accident on his family farm that took his leg in June 2014.

“It was really exciting because I was always a runner, just to know that you could still run after having an amputation ... I was pretty excited to hear how Matt was getting on,” Corporaal said.

“It was so cool just to have someone to reach out to.”

‘I just have to take it slowly’

Corporaal used a wheelchair before having a prosthetic leg fitted at the Peke Waihanga Artificial Limb Service clinic in Tauranga in October.

This was “really exciting” as it gave him “next level” independence.

“I just have to take it slowly ... you just have to listen to your body.

National peer support and events co-ordinator for Peke Waihanga Artificial Limb Service Matthew Bryson (left) and Sjors Corporaal. Photo / Megan Wilson

“It’s surprising what you can do with it though ... life’s almost back to normal.”

Corporaal said he regularly got phantom pain including numbness, and pins and needles.

“It feels like you’ve still got your old foot.”

He did ongoing rehabilitation to strengthen the muscles.

Corporaal said he used to do a lot of mountain and trail running, and half-marathons.

He was still easing back into running.

Corporaal said he was grateful for the support from his friends, family, the people and technology at the limb service clinic, and Accident Compensation Corporation which would help him with a return-to-work programme.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

A free trail event for all abilities

Bryson said an amputation was “probably the most traumatic thing that most people have ever had happen to them”.

His work involved sharing information about living with an artificial limb, including phantom pain, adjustment, and the emotions of frustration and anger.

“We also know the positives as well that actually when we get over that hurdle, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Bryson helped organise the inaugural Born to Adapt community trail running event in Rotorua last year.

National peer support and events co-ordinator for Peke Waihanga Artificial Limb Service Matthew Bryson (right) and Sjors Corporaal running in Rotorua's Redwoods. Photo / Megan Wilson

Born to Adapt hosts adaptive trail events in America and is a project of the not-for-profit charity called the Mendocino Movement Project.

The charity was founded in 2018 by American professional trail runner and disability advocate Zachary Friedley, who travelled to Rotorua for the event.

This year’s free event is open to all abilities and is taking place in the Redwoods on February 8. It will include a 1.6km loop track and a shorter wheelchair accessible track, Bryson said.

Corporaal will be running in the event. Participants could walk or run around the loop track as many times as they wanted.

Bryson said “people from all walks of life” attended last year’s event.

“It’s just a nice, friendly, relaxed, motivational event.”

Registrations can be made online, and via Peke Waihanga’s Facebook and Instagram.

Agriculture one of ‘most high-risk industries’

A WorkSafe New Zealand spokesman said the agency had completed its investigation into Corporaal’s incident.

No charges were filed as no breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 were identified on the part of the employer, he said.

“WorkSafe has met with Mr Corporaal about the outcome and wishes him well for his ongoing recovery.”

The spokesman said agriculture was one of the four most high-risk industries in Aotearoa, and was a priority sector under its new strategy.

Agriculture accounted for about 25% of acute work-related fatalities and serious injuries, while only 6% of employment is in this sector. Most serious harm occurred in dairy, sheep, and beef farming.

“Farming is a way of life for many people in Aotearoa, and health and safety must be part of this way of life.”

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.