Tonight on Sunday ` they breed 'em tough in Southland, but this is the stuff of legend. Yeah, I pressed the emergency button, and she was all on. The extraordinary story... Didn't feel much. It happened that quick. ...of the fight... I seen him holding his wrist, and his hand was not attached any more. ...to save Justy's hand. Essentially, the clock is ticking. You probably saved his life. You probably saved his life. Probably. Then,... Leading up to actually meeting her, I was so nervous. ...first, she impressed Dame Kiri. She has a uniqueness about her. She's a lovely looking girl. Now she's taking on the world. She's got to be exceptionally good. A thousand sopranos looking for one place. It's tough. Copyright Able 2014 Kia ora, I'm Miriama Kamo. For 18 hours, Justy McLean was a man of two parts ` himself and his left hand, separated. Up until this year, Southern man Justy had led an unremarkable life ` quiet, hardworking, solitary. That was until he suffered a horrific workplace injury. Now, most of us would have been devastated ` scarred for life ` but as Janet McIntyre reports, not Justy. UPBEAT COUNTRY MUSIC Riding along with Justy McLean begs just one question ` has anyone told you you shouldn't be driving? No. Oh, one or two have, but I take no notice of it. He's impatient, doesn't like sitting around. I'm not one for taking a rest. I like to be active and doing stuff. So active, he was driving again just three weeks after a workplace accident which severed his hand. This is the story of Justy's left hand ` cut off, overlooked and left behind. It technically died but was retrieved and airlifted. It is the extraordinary story of workmates, family, the local cop and a team of surgeons who rallied around Justy to try to save his left hand. CURIOUS MUSIC We don't, uh, see whole hands that often, thankfully. A lifeless piece of tissue, really. Essentially, the clock is ticking, and it's dead until it it's replanted or gets a blood supply. Gosh, we wanted to give the guy his hand back. You don't see this happen every day, uh... LAWNMOWER WHIRRS Stoic, a man of few words, Justy, 41, has always worked with his hands and mostly with father Jack, still a good keen Southlander at 68. I didn't like him around machines. It's all right if he's with me in the truck delivering wood. Uh, that's different kind of work. I didn't mind that. So did you tell him you were worried about that? Well, he wouldn't have listened anyway, so... Why were you particularly worried? Why were you particularly worried? Well, because he's so quick. It's, 'Look out of my way. Here I come.' PORTENTOUS MUSIC Earlier this year, in forest near Mataura, Justy started a new job, operating an industrial firewood splitter. How long had you been doing that job for? > How long had you been doing that job for? > Uh, two to three weeks. And had you been trained how to do it? And had you been trained how to do it? No. < How suited do you think he was for the job? Um, it's hard to say, cos it was hard to get a conversation out of him, so... It was lucky Darren Scannell was working with Justy that day in secluded forest, no one else around, 8km from the nearest house. It was a nice hot day, yeah. Um, everything was going smoothly. And yeah, it wasn't far away from smoko and... Darren was at one end of the machine, feeding rings of timber on to a conveyor belt, then through a guillotine to be chopped up. Justy's job was to clear blockages away from the blade. So did that mean you had to put your hand in between the blade going up and down? > Uh, not all the time but sometimes. Mm. Mm. How did you feel about doing that? Uh, a bit scared, I suppose. Yeah. He would've been sitting there. He's put his hand right in under there on top of the ring. So, can you tell me how this accident happened? Well, I stuck my hand under the cutter blade to try and clear a blockage, and it was too late, and yeah, it got chopped off. Didn't feel too much. It happened that quick. It wasn't wood under the blade. It was Justy's gloved hand. I thought, 'Why the bloody hell did he throw his glove in there?' And, um, when the blade came back up and I finally caught a glimpse of Justin, cos the blade's quite large, I seen him holding his wrist, and his hand was not attached any more and... And how did he look? Um, he looked very shocked, with blood squirting about a metre out of his arm, and yeah, I pressed the emergency button, and she was all on, yeah. There must have been a lot of blood, was there? > There must have been a lot of blood, was there? > Yeah, there was a bit. Yes, a bit. It must have been gushing. It must have been gushing. Yes. Yeah, right. Yes. < Did he yell out? Did he say anything? < Did he yell out? Did he say anything? Nah, he didn't make a sound, eh. That's why I couldn't understand, like` that's why I thought, 'Oh, it's just a glove there.' What did you do? Oh, had to rip my hoodie off and use the arms of my hoodie to tie his wrist off to stop the bleeding and, you know, had it blocked up and, um,... started racing him towards the car, and the hoodie was falling off, so I had to keep retying it, and then I remembered about his hand, and I thought, 'Oh God. Go back and get his hand.' Did it freak you out? Did it freak you out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. A little bit, yeah. What did Justin say about that? What did Justin say about that? Well, he didn't want it. He didn't` 'I don't bloody want that. I don't blood want that.' That's what he said, eh. So I had to put it in between his feet on the` on the ground. You said you didn't want it. > You said you didn't want it. > No, that's right. I was in shock. Yeah, a lot of shock. And what do you think now that he went back and got it for you? And what do you think now that he went back and got it for you? No, it was very good of him. Yes. With Justy in the car, hand between his feet, Darren took off. He was going pale and sweating` He was going pale and sweating` Pale. Yeah, pale. Yes. Yep, had to try and keep him talking. Yes. Yes. < (SCOFFS) How hard was that? Yes. < (SCOFFS) How hard was that? It was bloody hard. It's hard to get a good bloody long conversation out of Justin. It's hard to get a good bloody long conversation out of Justin. Yeah, well... Justy was bleeding out. Oh, it was going` spraying on my arms and on my T shirt and yeah... Darren was breaking the law ` unlicensed, pushing 180 K's an hour. I didn't want to keep racing, so I took him to the police station and said, 'Look, this guy's had his hand cut off. I'm a disqualified driver. You need to get him somewhere asap.' You were willing to take the risk, though. Well, it's better than somebody bleeding out and dying, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, it is unusual. Even in police work, it's unusual. Constable Cupit, the sole cop at Mataura Police, called in the job. I had a male turn up at the station. He'd had his hand chopped off. And that I was taking the male and his hand to Gore Hospital. Even though Justy was resisting ` he said he didn't want the hand. I told him we were taking it with us. It wasn't gonna stay at the station. I would have had to have to put it in my fridge. I wouldn't have been too happy about that. They all arrived at Gore Hospital, but was one thing was missing. They wheeled me in, and the policeman forgot to take my hand in with him into the emergency department, so he went back for it and grabbed it, and yeah... Poor hand nearly got left behind. Yes. Yes. Quite a few times. > Yes. Quite a few times. > Yeah, a couple of times. What did it feel like to carry? What did it feel like to carry? Oh, just like carrying a big steak, really. Something like that. Yeah, I haven't actually carried someone's hand before, so... I thought, 'Oh Jeez, what's Justy done?' Father Jack raced to his son's side. Justy was very relaxed. He wasn't screaming out or nothing, which I thought was pretty wonderful, because I expected to hear him when I was half a mile away from the hospital, you know? (LAUGHS) Into a chilly bin,... HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRR ...and then into a helicopter went the bandaged hand, time running out to reattach it to Justy. He was taking in the views. Yeah, it was pretty awesome. First ever ride in a helicopter. Two and a half hours from Gore to Christchurch in a helicopter. Did you enjoy it? Did you enjoy it? Yes, I did. Very much. Yes. It was six hours since Justy's hand had been chopped off, almost too late to do anything. The clock is ticking, and it's dead until it's replanted or gets a blood supply. Plastic and reconstructive surgeons Dylan James and Terry Creagh had never worked together before to attach a full hand. Certainly parts of the hand. Um, usually we don't see whole hands that often, thankfully. Normally it's, uh, fingers. But for a severed whole hand, Justy's hand was in excellent condition. It was actually a very clean amputated part. It was amputated in just one nice, clean, level cut, which made our job a lot, uh` a lot easier. What condition was Justin in? Justin has got to be one of the most relaxed gentlemen I've ever seen, in terms of a major injury. When we took him into the operating theatre, he had his mobile in his top pocket, and despite only having one hand to answer it with, he was easily able to take his phone out of his pocket and have a chat to whoever was calling. It would take a team of 14 working through the night to try to put Justy back together. It was gonna be a long night. We don't want to miss out any of the structures. Tick them off as you go. Reconnecting blood supply, wiring together bones, nerves, tissue, skin. 12 hours of intricate, painstaking surgery, the outcome unknown. At 6.30 in the morning, when we finished the job, we were both looking forward to a strong cup of coffee. And we were very pleased to see the hand looking pink, and in fact, staff who were coming on, came into theatre, saw a hand with a bandage on it and looked at the fingertips ` they looked pink, warm, you know, swollen and had life back into them ` and some of them would ask, 'What have you done here?' They didn't really realise that the hand had been put back on. Very very satisfying feeling. Tell me about it. How does it feel now? > Tell me about it. How does it feel now? > There's a wee bit of feeling there. Six months later,... There's still a plate in there, which is staying, I believe, and a couple of those K-wire pins they couldn't get out. ...Justy is expected to continue to get back function. It's hoped he'll be able to lift, push and grip, even type, with his reattached hand, though he'll never bend his wrist. Yeah, I didn't want to end up with either a stump ` nothing there ` or a hook. It's good to have my hand back on. With the support of his family, physio and payouts from ACC of $521 a week, there's little he can't do. < How do you look after your nails? < How do you look after your nails? I can cut these ones OK, but the right ones I just chew them. No use in the left hand. Yeah, just like this. < (CHUCKLES) < (CHUCKLES) Mm. I think his relaxed nature probably helped him to get through that very traumatic time. A lot of patients would have really struggled with that, and so I'm sure the power of the mind` You know, he was a positive man. You know, probably why he's done reasonably well out of it, to be honest. Hmm. CURIOUS MUSIC How's it going, Darren? How are you going, Justin? How are you going, Justin? Thank you very much for saving my life. Very much appreciated it. No worries. But if co-worker Darren Scannell hadn't been there with Justy to fetch the hand, stem the bleeding and race for help,... Girls like scars. ...there's little doubt either Justy or his left hand would be here. Yeah, nah, it's looking all right, eh. Cool. Oh yeah, he definitely would have bled out. You probably saved his life. You probably saved his life. Probably. How were you after all that? How were you after all that? Um, oh, got a ride home, and yeah, I was a bit` a bit green. Had a shower and told my mates about it, and what a day, you know? Sort of work story. As for Justy, he's optimistic he'll make a full recovery. There you are. All he wants is to get off ACC and back to a full-time job. Mm. Probably go back to the same job. Not necessarily working on that machine but, yeah, driving a digger or working a chainsaw or something. I did enjoy it. But why? But why? Oh, just the smell of the woods and all the rest of it, yeah. You really think you might? You really think you might? I hope so, yes. Yep. CURIOUS MUSIC WorkSafe NZ has investigated the incident and laid a charge against Town & Country Wood Supplies of failing to ensure the safety of an employee. It required safety improvements be made to the log-splitting machine, including the guard around the blade, which you could see in our story. Well, up next, from her Wellington bedroom Bianca Andrew's teenage dream was to be an opera star. Now mentored by Dame Kiri, she's taking on the world. I'd never heard anything like this in my whole life. ARIA FROM MADAME BUTTERFLY BY PUCCINI PLAYS And I felt that I had to be involved with this music. Maybe one day I will be worthy enough to` to sing it. (SINGS 'HABANERA' FROM CARMEN BY GEORGES BIZET) OPERATIC MUSIC When you find the home you want, make it yours with ANZ Buy Ready. You'll get our great rate, plus up to $2000 cash on new lending. Talk to us today. Welcome back. Bianca Andrew is one of NZ's brightest young opera stars. With Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as her mentor, she is forging a career in the highly competitive and sometimes cruel world of international opera. But in many ways, Bianca goes against the opera stereotype, and that makes her someone to watch. Here's Jessica Mutch in London. It's a very difficult world. You can't imagine how difficult it is. In what way difficult? > In what way difficult? > Every single way you want to name. But in Wellington's Lowry Bay, it's the world that Bianca Andrew wants to be part of, as she packs up her life and relives old memories. 'UN BEL DI VEDREMO' FROM MADAME BUTTERFLY BY PUCCINI PLAYS I mean, come on, like... (CHUCKLES) I'd never heard anything like this in my whole life. That CD was Bianca's introduction to opera at the age of 16. I felt really grown up, cos I caught the bus to Petone... (LAUGHS) on my own with my pocket money and went to The Warehouse, and I saw this boxed set, like, in a bargain bin. And it just said, '100 Best Classical Hits.' And it was for $5. And I thought, 'Oh, that's, like, a hundred songs for five bucks. That's a pretty good deal.' So... (LAUGHS) Bianca connected with Puccini's tragic love story, Madame Butterfly. I threw open my windows so that the whole valley of neighbours could hear it. OPERA MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING She understood the sense of loss in the song, because Bianca was struggling to cope with her own` the end of her parents' marriage. I still cry when I hear this piece, because I was going through this` this experience with my parents, and it showed me that really beautiful things could come out of` out of pain. And I felt, you know, right from that day that I had to` I had to be involved with this music, and maybe` maybe one day I will be worthy enough to` to sing it. MUSIC SWELLS When did you first discover that you could actually sing? We were doing this musical at school, um ` Titanic, the musical. And I was just` my music teacher asked me if I would sing this, like, solo hymn while the ship was sinking in the show. Um, but I think she only asked me because I was the only person who'd learnt the music. And then from then people just kept asking me to do stuff in school shows. Please welcome Miss Bianca Andrew. APPLAUSE After graduating from the NZ School of Music, she began to sing professionally and was a finalist in this year's prestigious Lexus Song Quest. (SINGS OPERA) But her biggest achievement was winning the 2014 Kiri Te Kanawa Scholarship, allowing her to study overseas. I often imagine, like, meeting, you know, like, 7-year-old me and just going, 'This is what's going to happen, honey.' She'd be, like, 'Oh my God. I never thought...' Like, I thought I was gonna be either an archaeologist or... What else did I want to be? I wanted to be an air hostess or a nun. A nun? A nun? Like, for the music and the cool outfit and... Oh, you've still kind of got that, though. Oh, you've still kind of got that, though. Oh right. (LAUGHS) So you're a mezzo-soprano. I've heard that mezzos play witches, bitches and breeches. Yes. Yes. It doesn't go with the whole glamour of opera if you have to play a boy. I would disagree. There's, um` There are some operas where you get a banging costume for singing. You get an awesome suit, like, a huge sword, beautiful shoes, great wig. It's wonderful. And when you're singing as a bloke, you're sitting there, legs apart, and it's really, like... (GRUNTS) LAUGHTER Where's Banc moving to? Where am I going? Where's Banc moving to? Where am I going? London! She's leaving tomorrow. Well, happy birthday, Bianca. Well, happy birthday, Bianca. Thank you. Thanks, everyone. But tonight is all about her 25th birthday and celebrating with her proud family. The time that really impressed me and made me realise that Bianca had something special was we had a wonderful party one night, and Bianca was singing this beautiful piece, and everybody stopped, and we asked her to sing it over and over and over again. You know, I'm emotional about it now, um... To see your child and other people just completely stopped in their tracks, it was really wonderful. UPLIFTING MUSIC Oh my goodness. Did you weigh this? Bianca's mum is going with her to help her settle in, but saying goodbye is still hard. Love you. (SNIFFLES) UPLIFTING MUSIC CONTINUES Bianca will be mentored in London by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa herself. (SINGS OPERA) She's got to be exceptionally good. 50 sopranos, a hundred, a thousand sopranos looking for one place. It's tough. It's tough. Does she have the raw material? I think she has a lot. Raw material, yes. She has a uniqueness about her. She's a lovely looking girl, and the voice is very pretty. We need to make sure it's going to be sensational, and the teaching will` will prove it. Has she got the right teacher? And that's something we need to look at very carefully. You performed for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa personally. What was that like? Leading up to actually meeting her, I was so nervous, so nervous, like, 'Oh my God. I'm going to be sick.' I was so scared. But then I turned up, and she was really nice. I felt like I was just, sort of, singing for an auntie that I'd never met or something. It was cool. BOTH SING OPERA From the bottom of your heart. (SINGS OPERA) Dame Kiri will be following Bianca's progress at the renowned Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Very good Russian, yes. I'm very impressed. Brava. Fantastic. HANDEL'S 'ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA' With hundreds of students from over 50 countries applying for a place here, Bianca was one of the lucky few to be accepted. It's kind of overwhelming and really exciting at the same time, because all of these singers that I've admired over the years and listened to and` and followed, so many of them have actually studied here, and now I'm here. (LAUGHS) It's kind of unreal. Bianca's dream would be to perform here at Covent Garden in London's theatre district. We're standing here where one day your name might be up in lights. I think for any singer, stepping on to that stage would be unbelievably frightening. I mean really scary, but also imagine coming off` imagine coming off stage at the end and just going, 'I did it,' and calling Mum and Dad and being, like, 'I did it.' (LAUGHS) I really will try and advise her as much as I can ` as much as she wants ` and I hope she does extremely well, you know? Extremely well. (SINGS 'HABANERA' FROM CARMEN BY GEORGES BIZET) Bianca hopes she can make other people feel the way she felt that day in her room all those years ago. The best thing that I can do for myself is to be myself and stay true to what has motivated me in the past. (CONTINUES SINGING 'HABANERA' FROM CARMEN BY GEORGES BIZET) Why do I want people to listen to what I'm singing? What have I got to say? And then say it as honestly as I can for them. (CONTINUES SINGING 'HABANERA' FROM CARMEN BY GEORGES BIZET) Oh, she's lovely. All right, fingers crossed for her, and we'll be back after the break. Well, that's the end of our show, Sunday, for tonight. Join us on Facebook and Twitter `