Man Who Cut Off Own Arm Speaks

The man who cut off his own arm after it was trapped in a furnace for three days answered questions about his ordeal at a press conference. INSIDE EDITION has his story.

The man who cut off his own arm to save his life spoke for the first time about his incredible ordeal. "It's still surreal to me," said Jonathan Metz. "It was an instinctual response in an impossible situation."

Metz was repairing the furnace at his home in West Hartford, Connecticut when his left arm became trapped in the machinery. After three days of suffering, Metz did what he had to do with a saw blade.

"I fashioned a tourniquet out of the shirt I was wearing, tied it as best I could, and I started cutting," he told reporters during a press conference.

Metz was trapped for nearly three days in the basement and he cried out for help, to no avail. He finally made the agonizing decision to cut off his own arm. He was on the brink of death when he was rescued, and now doctors are marveling at his miraculous recovery.

Metz's parents, Anne and Paul Metz of North Carolina, told The Early Show they're awed by their son's courage...

"I couldn't see how anyone could take a saw to cut their arm off, that just was beyond my comprehension," Paul said.

"What put me over the top throughout this whole thing was thinking about family, [my] fiancée, and friends," said Metz.

He had gone down to his basement expecting to spend 15 minutes repairing his furnace, and he'd even popped a meal into his microwave before going downstairs. He says throughout his three-day ordeal, he heard the microwave beep every few minutes.

"It was maddening but it was also somewhat sobering in the sense that each time I heard the chirp I knew that I was still there," Metz explained.

Jonathan and his family say they are touched by the outpouring of support and donations, including a new furnace donated by a local company.