Farmer John Muller speaks on near-death experience after being trampled by cattle

A South Burnett cattle producer says he was haunted by nightmares for weeks after losing his footing that left him with horrific injuries including collapsed lungs and serious scalp damage.

For weeks after farmer John Muller was nearly killed in a horror accident, he was haunted by nightmares from which he woke with the feeling of his own cattle trampling his chest.

The sleep troubles were the aftermath of a shocking incident in which the cattle producer was trampled, kicked and nearly killed by his own livestock.

While preparing the cattle for sale on September 13, Mr Muller had trouble tagging the ear of one heifer and decided to climb up the side of the crush.

The 75-year-old lost his footing and fell into the crush, frightening the six heifers that responded by trampling and kicking him for several minutes.

“It was traumatic. I was thinking, ‘Am I going to survive this?’” Mr Muller said.

“One’s kicked me in the head, I had a bit of my scalp peeled back, I got a cut down the side of my face, three broken ribs, a mutilated finger, and two collapsed lungs.

“I got stood on right in the middle of my chest.”

Paul Pratt, Pratt Agencies, with vendor John Muller and the charity heifer’s buyers, Cory and Brent Evans, Jen-Daview Stud and Andrew Wieland, SBLX Site Manager, who bided on behalf of AAM. Photo: SBLX

In an effort Mr Muller describes as extremely difficult, he dug at the dirt under the gate to create enough room for himself to crawl to safety.

“I had my ute there, which was just outside the yard, and I managed to get into the ute and drive to the house. “

Mr Muller said he walked into his house and asked his wife, who screamed at the sight of her bloodied and bruised husband, to call triple-0.

He was taken to Murgon Hospital then flown to the Princess Alexandra Hospital under the care of the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Critical Care doctor.

It wasn’t until Mr Muller was loaded into the helicopter that he learned the extent to his injuries, with doctors having to drain both his lungs, which had collapsed.

He said while he was still able to breathe “enough to stay alive”, each breath was very shallow until he was put on oxygen.

Murgon farmer John Muller was trampled by his own cattle after falling into the crush while tagging their ears. Photo: LifeFlight

Mr Muller was flown in a serious condition on the Monday and placed in a induced coma, waking two days later on September 15.

“My son saw me when the chopper landed in the PA before I was fixed up, and said it looked like someone had tried to scalp me,” he said.

While the experience was truly a “frightening” one, Mr Muller said he felt incredibly safe with the LifeFlight crew and knew he wanted to give back somehow.

“I don’t think I would be here today if it wasn’t for LifeFlight,” he said.

Mr Muller donated the Brahman heifer that stepped on his sternum to RACQ Lifeflight, where it was sold at the South Burnett Livestock Exchange on Tuesday.

The heifer was purchased by the AAM Investment Group for $1998 and donated back into the sale for a second auction, where it was purchased by the Evans Family, Jen-Daview Limousin Stud for $1578.

A total of $3576 was donated to LifeFlight as a result.