A Hugo man is still recovering in the hospital after his legs got caught in a paper shredder while at work.

It happened earlier this month at Shred Right in Bloomington, and now OSHA is investigating.

Jeff McLean and his wife Jamie are preparing for what life will look like next.

“It’s going to be a whole life change, and we don’t know what’s coming,” Jamie said.

Jamie has been right by her husband’s side at Hennepin County Medical Center, where doctors had to amputate both of his legs below the knee after a workplace accident.

“They told me enough to tell me that his legs were gone,” Jamie said.

It happened at Shred Right in Bloomington on April 2. Jamie says Jeff was working on an industrial paper shredder and fell in.

“That is where he was hanging on in the machine for 52 seconds before somebody heard him,” Jamie said. “They said if it wasn’t for the actions of his couple friends at work, the two people that stepped in first that he would not be here at all”

Minnesota OSHA has opened an investigation into what happened at Shred Right but couldn’t expand any further about this particular incident. Minnesota OSHA adds in the last five federal fiscal years, it has investigated 52 amputation serious injuries. 

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to the CEO of Shred Right, Ron Mason, who says Jeff is a longtime employee at the company.

“This has landed super hard on Jeff’s co-workers,” Mason said. “He’s just a really nice guy and really well-loved by everyone at the company.”

The 54-year-old is trying to regain his strength.

“He’s going to PT and OT every single day and working really hard,” Jamie said.

At the same time, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

“He has just been cracking jokes. He’s like, ‘I’m short,’ and he said, ‘Well, now I’m as tall as you,’ and ‘Oh, now I don’t have to cut my toenails anymore,'” Jamie said.

Jamie says Jeff will be in a wheelchair for a while before getting fitted for prosthetic legs which is something that she says presents all sorts of questions because their house is not accessible.

“We may be looking at a move in the future,” she said.

Whatever comes next, Jamie is proud of her husband’s progress and attitude, but also grateful to everyone who stepped in to save Jeff’s life.

“We appreciate every single thing, and nobody will know how much,” she said.

Jeff is expected to be released from the hospital next week. But the recovery is far from over so if you’d like to support his GoFundMe, click here.