Man Had His Penis And A Testicle Amputated After Horrific Drunk Driving Crash

A 29-year-old man had to have his penis and one of his testicles amputated after a horrific drunk and drive crash.

On May 10, 2014, Paul Berry, who lived in Saint Louis at the time, was driving in an inebriated state to see his then-girlfriend who lived in Columbia, Illinois when he lost control of the vehicle.

He was thrown out the back window. The car rolled over and landed on his lap - breaking his neck, jaw, nose, hips, pelvis and sustaining a brain injury.

His penis and one of his testicles were severely injured and the doctors had no other option than to amputate them.

Seven years later, Berry finally gained the confidence to talk about the tragedy. He said he is sharing his story in an effort to caution people from driving when they're over the limit.

Berry said: "They had to amputate my, well, manhood. It's like they chopped a tree down and there's a stump."

"Ironic, because I didn't feel like a 'man' until after the accident."

"I want to tell the world about the emotional toll this took and will always take on me."

"It has forever changed my life in a way that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy."

He confessed that he had downed few drinks earlier that evening with a pal, the Daily Mail reported.

He said: "I was over there every day, and drinking a fifth of hard liquor every day."

"I either fell asleep or I slipped in the rain," he said.

"I started to go one way and I turned the wheel the other way trying to correct myself but I overcorrected which caused the vehicle to flip."

"It rolled a few times and I was ejected out the back window, and then I went flying and the car kept rolling and I hit the ground and the car happened to stop rolling right on top of me."

A truck driver who was traveling behind him halted and signaled for other motorists to stop and help lift the car off Berry.

An air ambulance transported Berry to St. Louis University Hospital and put him into a medically induced coma.

"They said that my heart stopped for a few seconds when I was in the air," said Berry, who now lives in Sestus, Missouri.

He remained in a coma for five weeks, during which he had a titanium jaw fitted, 13 screws in his chin, and plates put in both sides of his face.

"You couldn't tell by looking at me though, they did a damn good job!" he joked.

The car wheel had come off during the crash, he said. When the vehicle fell over him, the metal that was left crushed his genital area.

He said: "I had a scar that looks surprisingly healed now, but it basically smashed it and the middle of the shaft was dead tissue."

"They tried to reconstruct it but it was unsuccessful."

Surgeons attempted to re-attach the shaft with the remaining tissue, but Paul went into leukocytosis during the surgery. Leukocytosis is a condition that occurs when a high number of white blood cells fill up the injured area.

Doctors say the condition could be fatal, so considering his safety, the medics were left with no other choice than to amputate his penis and one of his testicles, leaving just a stump.

Berry didn't initially register the extent of his injuries when he finally woke up from the coma.

He said: "I don't know if I just didn't want to believe it, it was shocking."

"I thought that it would heal, but the doctor came in and asked me if I had any frozen semen in case I wanted to have kids because I wouldn't be able to have kids."

"I felt overwhelmed like my life was over."

"I even had the name of my baby girl chosen from when I was 14 years old, that crushed me."

"I have always dreamt of having a baby girl – my whole life, basically."

"I guess I should have felt lucky to be alive considering, but honestly at that point in my life I didn't feel very lucky," he said.

Berry spent another six weeks at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital undergoing physical, speech, and occupational therapy. During that time, he also miraculously retained his ability to walk.

He said: "The doctor walked in and I'm sitting in the wheelchair and he said 'Now Paul, I'm not saying that you'll never walk again I'm just saying you'll have to relearn how to walk'."

"Well my a** stood up from the wheelchair and took a few steps over to him and I was like 'Excuse me doctor, I didn't hear you!'"

"Then a bunch of nurses rushed around me like 'OK Paul sit down, sit down!'"

After the accident, Paul's sister, Danielle Berry, had been taking care of his beloved ten-year-old Labrador-boxer cross Resse.

She told him that he couldn't have her back until he was fully healed. This motivated him to get his life back on track.

He said: "I kind of realized the same things you die for you also live for."

"My then-fiancée, my dog, my family, my nieces, and nephews – but mainly the dog."

"She helps me more than you could ever imagine, she gives me a purpose to wake up every day."

"I don't work to get money for myself I get money for her expensive dog food."

In December 2014, Berry’s hopes were elevated when he heard about the first-ever successful penis transplant performed in South Africa.

"But that was the first one ever and that was shortly after and I don't have enough money for all that," he said.

"I'm not holding my breath, if it happens that's great."

He said he is now fully recovered, but it wasn't until now that he finally gained the confidence to speak out about how the tragedy changed his life.

"I feel like I can open up about it, I'm not ashamed anymore," he said.

"Life's hard but it's made me a lot more confident in myself."

"I realize it's not the most important thing and that doesn't make you who you are."

"I can honestly say I didn't feel like a man until after I didn't have a manhood."