after he fell while trimming some bushes. >> this was excrucucting. i can't tell you how much it hurt. i sort of pulled on it and it seemed real solid so i just left it alone and realized that it was the clipper. >> reporter: conscious the entire time, he yelled for his girlfriend of 12 years, arpy, who called 911. >> i don't know how i kept myself composed, i really don't. i guess in times like that, you do. i was just thinking of him. trying to do the best that i could for him. >> reporter: the handle was shears was stuck just above his carotid artery. a team of surgeons made two careful incisions to take it out. >> and we were able to loosen it up enough to where we could slide it out carefully. and he j jt did beautifully. >> reporter: dr. lynn polanski has worked several traumas and was on the team that treated congresswoman gabrielle giffords after she was shot in the head. he calls this case one in a million. >> for this kind of direct impact, next to his eye, he's very lucky.