A longtime tractor operator lost her arm in a farming accident Wednesday when her sleeve got caught in the tractor’s PTO.
Mae Anderson, 84, of Liberty was working on building a new cattle pen when her sweater got caught in the posthole digger PTO shaft, said her employer Tom Lewis.
The shaft pulled her arm in, causing extensive damage.
“Bones were all broken, and the hand and arm were virtually severed, only attached by muscle and blood vessels,” Lewis said.
Someone called 911 and got the bleeding stopped.
“They met the ambulance on County Farm Road, and when the EMTs saw her condition, they summoned the air vac to Vance park and she was airlifted to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge,” Lewis said.
“She underwent surgery to basically prepare her arm stump. She lost her left arm at about the elbow.”
Anderson never lost consciousness during the ordeal.
She was placed in intensive care, where she remained Thursday evening.
A nurse took a selfie with “Miss Mae” and sent it to friends.
“She appears strong and determined, already wanting to come home,” Lewis said Thursday. “This is her first major accident or injury in her almost 85 years.”
Anderson was featured on the Enterprise-Journal Outdoors Page on Aug. 7, 2021, with the headline, “Miss Mae still baling hay, working cattle at 84.”
Lewis said the incident is a “teaching experience” for everyone who works with heavy equipment.
“While it is a harsh lesson, it is nevertheless a lesson for all of us who work with power tools or equipment — old and young,” he said. “A posthole digger PTO shaft turns relatively slowly, but it was still strong enough to cause this damage in just a very few seconds. Remember, stay away from turning shafts, never wear loose-fitting clothes around moving equipment parts, and always leave protective safety shields in place or replace them.”
Anderson has a widespread reputation for her skill with a tractor and her toughness.
She delivered her 12th child one day after she got run out of a pen by a Brahma cow.
In last year’s interview she estimated she’d been driving a tractor for 45 or 50 years.
She’s also known for her skill in handling unruly cattle, drawing praise from experienced hands, including retired Woodville veterinarian Dunbar McCurley, who called her “one of the best cowhands I’ve ever worked with.”
