A grandfather looked like he had been "mauled by a lion" after falling on a moving escalator.
Frank Ball, 73, was dashed to A&E after he was dragged upside down on the stairway. The retired electrical engineer impaled his head and trapped his leg on the escalator.
The pensioner needed a skin graft about 5cm by 6cm on his head and broke a vertebrae in the top of his spine.
But Frank's wife, Rosalind, thought he was going to die, reports Stoke-on-Trent Live.
The granddad's case features in the first episode of the latest series of 999: Critical Condition tonight on Channel 5.
The documentary charts the life-and-death decisions and actions of staff at University Hospitals of North Midlands in Stoke-on-Trent.
Recalling his ordeal, Frank, from Hednesford, Staffordshire, said: "My injuries pretty much made me look like I had been mauled by a lion; there was a lot of blood. Once arriving at Stoke, I received a full-body scan to check my injuries - and my head was the worst. Luckily, I didn’t break my leg. However, I did break a vertebrae in the top of my spine and you could see my skull."
The horror happened when Frank, who has two children and two grandchildren, popped to the shops to pick up a new coat.
Despite the accident, Frank has used escalators since but doesn't like them.
He continued: "As I got on the escalator, she called me back because the collection point was on the ground floor. As I turned round, I fell forward. The escalator got my trousers and started taking me up backwards.
"They (doctors) took the skin from my thigh. My hair is growing back now and everyone is amazed at how well my head has healed.
"It was the first time I have been to hospital in Stoke and I was so pleased with the care I received. I have been back on an escalator since, but I don't like them.
"It's had much more of an effect on my wife, Rosalind, who thought I was a gonner.
"The good news though is that the coat fit."
The fifth series of 999: Critical Condition starts tonight at 9pm on Channel 5.
