20 February 2025 , 17:07
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A 10-year-old boy has had an extremely fortunate escape after being impaled on a kitchen knife in an unusual accident.
Landen Sturman, from Mandurah in Western Australia, was making a cheese toastie at home when he tripped backwards and fell onto the open dishwasher.
He landed on a steak knife which had been placed in the dishwasher pointing upwards, with the blade embedding itself in his backbone, extremely close to his spinal cord.
If the knife had severed his spinal cord, he could have been left with permanent paralysis – and horrifying scans show just how deeply the knife was impaled into his body.
Landon was taken to Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), where the knife was removed by specialist neurosurgery and orthopedic surgeons.
Doctors said Landen escaped paralysis by a ‘millimeter’s difference’.
Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any lasting nerve damage, and he’s since been able to return to school, PerthNow reports.
His mom Emma said she was extremely grateful for the care her son received – but urged others to ensure they don’t stack knives pointing upwards in their dishwashers.
‘Stacking the dishwasher is something so mundane that most people don’t think twice about it, but it goes to show how even the smallest actions can have a huge impact,’ she said.
‘Despite being such a traumatic event for our family, everyone at PCH was lovely. It really was the best outcome we could have hoped for.’