If you thought Aron Ralston was amazing, then the story of a Kershaw County farmer who amputated his own arm with a penknife after getting it stuck in a piece of farm equipment will blow your mind. And naturally, it’s earning beaucoup media attention.

Sampson Parker stood Monday in what had been a cornfield, calm and relaxed and smiling. Behind him was the rusty old corn picker that almost took his life, but settled for his right arm.

The machine didn’t take the arm outright. It just grabbed hold of it and wouldn’t let go. It was only when sparks from the machine set the stubble-strewn field on fire and Parker faced the prospect of being burned alive that he did the only thing he could to save his life.

He cut off his own arm with a pocketknife.

That was on Sept. 11, but Parker acted as if it had been a lifetime ago during an appearance Monday on TODAY.

“I’m doing great,” he told co-host Matt Lauer in a soft, South Carolina drawl. “Doing real good.”

Lauer found it amazing that Parker hadn’t destroyed the machine that nearly killed him, but he said he’d made peace with the machine and the ordeal it put him through.

“One Sunday morning, I came out here before going to church, said a little prayer, made everything good with God,” he explained. “It doesn’t bother me a bit.” [MIKE CELIZIC - MSNBC]

Here’s the story as it appeared on WIS last week: