(CNN) -- A Connecticut man who attempted to amputate his own arm after it was trapped in a furnace credits "human spirit" for his survival.
"Human spirit, its strong," Jonathan Metz, 31, of West Hartford, Connecticut, said Tuesday during a news conference at a hospital where he is being treated following his ordeal last week.
"And trust me, whether it's cutting your arm off or finding some other way, I think all people would be surprised by what they're capable of," added Metz, whose arm became trapped in the vents of a furnace.
Speaking from Hartford's Saint Francis Hospital, Metz explained how he was reaching for a fallen vacuum cleaner piece when his arm became stuck in the vents of the furnace.
After 12 hours of yelling for help, Metz had no sense of when he would be rescued. He said he became desperate when he started to smell rotting flesh, and knew had to take extreme measures if he was going to survive.
