Christopher Harrison says he was ‘terrified’ when blood started spurting from a stoma in his neck following a major 14-hour operation to remove his voicebox.

Doctors and nurses rushed to his bedside and desperately tried to stop the bleeding, which was coming from ruptured carotid arteries — the major vessels that supply most of the blood to the brain and head.

After losing numerous pints of blood, the 61-year-old of Methil Road somehow survived, with doctors calling him a miracle.

Now recovering back at home, Christopher, who is unable to speak, used a specially adapted computer to relive his horrific ordeal.

He said: “The main artery in my neck burst — it was terrifying as the blood was spurting out my neck.

“The nurses and doctors rushed to help me and gave me something to calm me down.

“Luckily they managed to stop the bleeding and rushed me to surgery.

“The doctors told me afterwards that not many people survive that and said it was a miracle that I did.

“They said that people only have about seven minutes to live when it happens — they managed to stop the bleeding with only a minute to spare.” Christopher’s wife Janet says she is still trying to get over the ordeal.

She said: “We nearly lost him.

“I got a call at 2am to tell me what had happened and even now I still jump when the phone goes.

“It’s a miracle that he recovered.” Christopher, who had fought and won a battle with throat cancer, started to feel unwell again in November last year.

His daughter Leeanne told the Tele: “He felt that his throat was getting smaller and smaller so he was sent away for a biopsy and they found that his throat was badly damaged.

“They think it could have been as a result of the radiation treatment but they’re not sure.

“They also said that some form of cancer had come back, so they sent him for the 14-hour operation where they removed half his throat and his voicebox as well as using some of the muscle in his leg to re-build his throat.

“He now breathes through a permanent hole in his neck.” It was while recovering from this operation in the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow when the artery burst.

Christopher was rushed through for an emergency operation where surgeons used muscle from his chest to stop the bleeding in his neck.

Following this, he underwent another operation where five coils were inserted in his neck to stop it happening again.

Christopher, who is now in remission from cancer, is back home recovering.

Although he is unable to speak or eat solid food, he remains remarkably upbeat.

He also praised the incredible support he’s received from his family, including his daughter Leeanne and granddaughter Sarah as well as his beloved wife Janet and his son Christopher.

Using his computer, he said: “I’ll have another operation in a couple of months then I’ll need to learn to speak again.

“But I set myself one goal each day — I’m getting there.

“My aim is to eventually eat a Kobe steak and have a glass of red wine.

“There are people much worse off than me.”