COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- A 12-year-old Cookeville boy is in intensive care after an accident that happened while he was riding his bike.

Video: Boy Survives Being Impaled By Tree Limb

Byran Cochran suffered an injury that doctors don’t see every day: A two-foot tree branch was plunged into his chest when he fell off his friend’s bike during a crash after its brakes gave way.

A few inches to the left or right and Cochran may not have been able to tell his story, doctors said. The limb was sticking out of him when he arrived at Vanderbilt Hospital.

The limb remained lodged until it was removed in surgery.

"It hurt really bad, and I was feeling sick," he said.

Doctors said sometimes it is first instinct to pull something like the limb out, but doctors said it's a good thing Cochran didn't because he may have bled to death.

Four days and a long surgery later, doctors praised Cochran for keeping his cool and even helping physicians keep theirs.

"As we were trying to make sure he was OK, he was actually making sure we were OK,"said trauma nurse Jackie Ray. "You know, it made it a lot easier on the staff because, of course, the wood sticking out of his shoulder was very distracting."

Cochran, who enjoys football and is the grandson of a former pro, said he's excited that his freakish tumble has excused him from school for the rest of the year, but he offered some words of wisdom for others.

"Wear a helmet and check your brakes if they work," he said.

Cochran hopes to leave the hospital in a few days, but he has a lot of physical therapy to come.

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