A PARAPLEGIC man who was stranded in a desert for three days dragged himself four miles down a dirt road to find help.
Survivor Ricky Gilmore says he went without food and water for three days after being dumped without his wheelchair in New Mexico.
He was eventually picked up by a passing motorist where he was found with shredded skin, a sprained wrist, kidney damage and a blood infection.
"Ah man, I'm just a big mess. I ache and I'm just in the first stages of healing," he told The Associated Press from his hospital bed.
Gilmore, 49, spent two days in intensive care and it could be at least another week before he can go home.
Reports say Gilmore was found along a seldom traveled road about 10 miles from his home in Newcomb.
Gilmore said he was dropped in the desert by a couple in a white truck whom he met while he was hitchhiking.
He had invited them to his home for steaks and they later went for what Gilmore thought was going to be a joyride.
When he declined to share his alcohol with them, Gilmore said the man grabbed him by his feet and threw him out of the truck while parked along the desolate road.
It was early evening and Gilmore had nothing - no wheelchair, no food, no water, no coat - to help him endure the flat desert scrubland.
"It was dark and I was shivering and the wind was blowing so I just crawled to a bush and dug in right there. It was cold that night," he said.
However, the next morning he started his journey to try and find help, but took three days to get home.
"I started dragging myself. I did the same thing all day and I only got about two miles," he said.
"I could have easily gave up and said forget it, but I said I'm not going to freeze out here and I just kept on going," said Gilmore, who lives by himself and lost the use of his legs in a car crash years ago.
"I don't think I would have made it another night," he said.
