Photos courtesy Kyle Daniels
Michelle Hoffman / Scroll Photo Illustration

How to lick your toes

BYU-I student loses fingers, gains three little piggy’s

Mandy Atwood ATW05001@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

“Dad I’m stuck,” were the words of 9-year-old Kyle Daniels after getting his hand caught in a grain auger on his family’s farm in Darlington, Idaho.

It was Sunday, Jan. 28, 1996. Kyle’s dad, mom, siblings and him were feeding cows using the grain feeder.

Kyle was supposed to work on the end of the grain feeder, so he reached up to jump on top of it and got his right hand caught in the gears ripped the fingers off of his right hand. The nerves in his hand were crushed. He didn’t feel anything but warmth.

Meanwhile, his mom felt she needed to turn the machine off without knowing Kyle had stuck his hand in the gears. If she would have waited the gears would have taken his whole arm.

“At first I didn’t know why this happened to me. I didn’t understand how this could happen to a 9-year-old. It totally flipped my world upside down,” Kyle said.

They tried to call 911 but there had been a huge blizzard the previous night causing a bad connection, so they couldn’t get through. Luckily, one of their neighbors was the family doctor and came in on a snow mobile.

After an hour of plowing, the road was cleared so an ambulance could get through. When the EMS arrived an hour later they put him to sleep and freed him from the gears.

He was later air lifted to Idaho Falls where he underwent eight hours of surgery. Doctors attempted to reattach his fingers and wrapped his hand in bandages for three weeks. But when they removed the bandage the fingers were dead.

He was given two choices: get a skin graph on his hand or do a toe-to-hand transplant. They chose the latter.

After 11 surgeries, a little more than a year in the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City and a year of physical therapy, Kyle has a little less than a normal hand. With the big toe from his right foot and the second and third toe from his left foot, Kyle can do almost anything.

“I can pick my nose and shave with my toes; that’s an accomplishment,” Kyle said with a grin.

Four weeks ago, Kyle, A sophomore from Idaho Falls, had his twelfth surgery because his third toe on his left foot was trying to grow back. It hurt to walk so the doctors needed to remove it before he could go on his mission.

Kyle is no stranger to trials. He said what inspired him to move on was the following quote by Hugh B. Brown.

“‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.’ I wanted to tell you that oft-repeated story because there are many of you who are going to have some very difficult experiences: disappointment, heartbreak, bereavement, and defeat. You are going to be tested and tried to prove what you are made of. I just want you to know that if you don’t get what you think you ought to get, remember, ‘God is the gardener here. He knows what he wants you to be.’”

Kyle’s attitude changed after reading this quote. He wanted to get better and put effort into therapy. He saw life differently than others.

“I’d be way different if I didn’t have my toes. I think I would be a snot. It helped me realize other people’s difficulties and I sympathize better,” Kyle said.

“Like the currant bush getting cut down, this was a minor set back that helped me grow.”