Watch the moment I mistakenly blew myself up on honeymoon – I only wanted to impress the Mrs, now I’ve only got one hand
THE sun shining down, Levi Stanford and his wife Amy looked across the picturesque reservoir and gave each other a quick kiss.
Married just five days earlier, the young newlyweds were still in celebration mode and had gone to the local beauty spot with six family members for an afternoon of swimming and relaxing.
But that wasn’t all. Levi, then 23, had something else – something very special – in mind to commemorate their big day and impress Amy, then 24.
“I grew up in the country and explosives were a part of life, they were used in mining work as well as building dams and demolition work on our farm,” says Levi.
“So I designed a device to create a huge geyser of water to shoot out of the reservoir and up into the air.”
Wanting to get the blast on camera, Levi asked his brother to start recording as he walked down to the shore and lit the fuse on his home-made device. He was supposed to have 60 seconds to throw it into the water before it went boom – but instead, the device exploded immediately, blowing his left hand to pieces.
I looked like a blood-soaked zombie. I thought I was dead – my entire body was covered in shrapnel.
“Somehow – probably because of the shock – I didn’t pass out,” Levi, of Calgary, Canada, says.
“I looked like a blood-soaked zombie. I thought I was dead – my entire body was covered in shrapnel. Blood was gushing from the wound.
“I was trying to celebrate my marriage – instead, I blew myself up. All my clothes had blown off. I destroyed both my ear drums, and I could only see out of one eye because of a plastic shard from the explosion . I was in agony.”
I told Amy I was dying, and she said I couldn’t leave her. I asked her if I still had my penis.
Levi
It was July 2015 when Levi made the decision that changed his life forever.
“Amy and I had met two years earlier. Amy saw me on stage in a play and liked what she saw. A month later we got introduced at a community dance .
“We’d had a big church wedding. It had been a week of parties, celebrations and family functions,” he explains.
“I wanted to get into demolition work and had developed a home-made design to blow things up underwater. I thought it would be a special memory from our honeymoon to try it out that day. I wanted to create a larger than life water fountain.
“I didn’t tell Amy about the water display. I wanted it to be a post wedding surprise.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get all the parts I needed as the shops were shut, so I tried to make do without them. That meant the device exploded much quicker than it should have done”
After the blast, Levi managed to haul himself away from the shore while his terrified family rushed to his side.
“My memories are sketchy but I’ve been told my wife and family then carried me halfway up a hill covered in gravel and rocks,” he says.
“You’d think after blowing yourself up, your day couldn’t get any worse. It did. My brother backed up the truck and knocked me over, I was hauled into the back, screaming and writhing.
“I told Amy I was dying, and she said I couldn’t leave her. Apparently I asked her if I still had my penis! She laughed through her tears and reassured me it was intact.
“Doctors said I made it to the local hospital just in time.”
I remembered this feeling like I was floating, surrounded by this immense white light. I thought to myself, this is it, I’m dying and I’m passing over.
Levi Stanford
From there, Levi had to be airlifted to Calgary Hospital for specialised burn treatment.
“I remembered this feeling like I was floating, surrounded by this immense white light. I thought to myself, this is it, I’m dying and I’m passing over.
UK Law and guidance around the use of explosives and fireworks
Explosives
In the UK, you need a certificate to acquire, store, transfer, keep, or manufacture explosives.
Explosive Substances Act 1883 – This act makes it a crime to unlawfully and maliciously cause an explosion with an explosive substance that could endanger life or seriously injure property.
Fireworks
It is not illegal to buy or use fireworks, unless you are under the age of 18.
But there are several restrictions regarding the use of fireworks.
The law says you must not set off or throw fireworks (including sparklers) in the street or other public places.
You must not set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, except for:
- Bonfire Night, when the cut off is midnight
- New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, when the cut off is 1am
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents shared advice regarding the use of fireworks.
- Check the time you can legally set off fireworks
- Only adults should deal with setting up firework displays
- Children and young people should be supervised and watch and enjoy fireworks at a safe distance
- Do not drink alcohol whilst dealing with fireworks
- Read and follow the instructions on each firework using a torch if necessary
- Light the firework at arm’s length with a taper and stand well back
- Keep naked flames, including cigarettes, away from fireworks
- Never return to a firework once it has been lit
- Don’t put fireworks in pockets and never throw them
- Direct any rocket fireworks well away from spectators
- Never use paraffin or petrol on a bonfire
- Make sure that the fire is out and surroundings are made safe before leaving
“I decided to basically let myself go, to what I thought was inevitable. Then I felt a swoosh and I knew I had to fight to live,” he says.
As well as losing his left hand and part of his forearm, Levi needed seven major operations including skin grafts from his right thigh, the creation of two new ear drums from skin on his head, eye surgery to remove a plastic shard and the removal of hundreds of pieces of plastic shrapnel that had torn his body apart.
“I then suffered compartment syndrome on my chest and arm. That meant blood pooled and swelled in those body parts. The only option was for surgeons to cut criss-cross lines over me to release the blood to stop me dying,” he says.
More than one quarter of my body had been harvested for skin grafts. I had to learn to hear again, I’d lost my left forearm and hand. I had to learn to walk again.
Levi Stanford
Unconscious for a week, Levi finally came round – and thought he’d died.
“I woke up and all I could remember was the explosion. It didn’t make sense to me I had survived. I was on so many painkillers I had no pain
“I was in intensive care for two weeks. Doctors had warned Amy not to get my hopes up even when I woke up as my lungs collapsed and my injuries were so extensive
Levi then faced a gruelling seven-month hospital stay due to the severity of the injuries.
“I knew I had been given a second chance at life. I willed myself better. Doctors said I’d done so well at rehab that I could leave after just two and half months,” he says.
I had no one but myself to blame for what happened.
Levi was off work as an arborist for the next 12 months coming to terms with his life-changing injuries.
“I refused to sit around and feel sorry for myself. I knew I had been given a second chance at life,” he says.
“More than one quarter of my body had been harvested for skin grafts. I had to learn to hear again, I’d lost my left forearm and hand. I had to learn to walk again as so much skin had been harvested from thigh he says.
“I had no one but myself to blame for what happened. Amy was amazing and showed me the meaning of true love.
I love developing adaptations for my prosthesis – now, I can barbecue, cook hotdogs and bake using my hand tools.
Levi Stanford
“We were both so happy I had survived it meant we didn’t argue about the accident. But Amy struggled initially when I was back home after leaving hospital. Whenever I started to some something risky like mountain climbing, biking or even running she would imagine the worst possible outcome.
“During the year I was off work locals raised almost £17,000 or $30,000CAD to help us through the first year.
“It was a blessing. Money was tight and this allowed me to focus on my recovery.
“I was doing rehab three times a week. It was two round trip. Sometimes getting out of bed was hard. Occupational therapy was agony as my body learnt to cope with the extensive healing process. Just stretching my arms and legs was painful due to skin grafts, ligament damage and scarring.
I refused to let being blown up stop me from achieving.
Levi Stanford
The pair welcomed son Maximus in July 2018, followed by Grace, now four, in June 2020 and Freya, 19 months, in December 2022.
Meanwhile Levi, who was fitted with a prosthetic on his left arm, set himself new goals.
“Having a false hand or hook is great. But I like to tinker and build things. I knew I could adapt my prosthesis for a range of tasks.”
True to his word. Levi has built a clip-in egg flipper, a hot dog cooker and a whisk extension that can fit into the stub of his false arm.
“I also made a big handclapper to entertain the kids. I also made an attachment for doing push-ups.”
“I love developing adaptations for my prosthesis – now, I can barbecue, cook hotdogs and bake using my hand tools. I also have an adaption to hold a mike, one to play the drums and another to crack a bullwhip. I like to call myself Captain Hook, though Mr Gadget or the Bionic Man will do too!
“My unusual extensions on my arm make people laugh. I show them how to re-think an injury and find a positive in the negative,” he says.
Levi also had to re-learn the guitar and piano, building extensions that allowed him to play. Determined to prove his skills, he even appeared on Canada’s Got Talent this year playing the piano.
“I loved appearing on the show. It showed people you can do anything even after a near fatal injury. I made it into the first of three rounds.
Levi – who has not gone near explosives since the accident – is now in demand all over the world as a motivational speaker, comedian and entertainer.
“I refused to let being blown up stop me from achieving,” he says. “The explosion may have changed my life, but it’s lit a fuse to help and inspire people all over the world. As far as I’m concerned, that’s made it all worth it.”
And he, of course, says no one should do what he did.
