clipped from: news.yahoo.com   

IOWA HILL, Calif. - Residents are pulling for a neighbor who was forced to amputate his left leg below the knee using pocket knives after a tree fell on him, pinning him for about 11 hours.

Al Hill, 66, was cutting trees on a property near the Big Dipper Mine last Friday when a tree fell on his leg and trapped him, authorities said. Alone in the woods and in an area where cellular phone service is spotty or nonexistent, Hill was forced to take the extreme measure to save himself.
it was hard to believe Hill didn't go into shock.

News of Hill's ordeal has captivated this tiny town about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento, where there is no electricity and few services for the roughly 200 residents.