Free-agent pitcher Carl Pavano suffered a freak injury on Jan. 12 while shoveling snow at his Vermont home. He’s lucky to be alive.

Pavano, 37, said he jammed his midsection on a shovel handle and didn’t realize he had lacerated his spleen until four days later. By the time he finally had surgery to remove the spleen, on Jan. 19, doctors first had to remove 6 1/2 liters of blood from his chest cavity.

The trauma happened when he fell down some stairs and landed on the shovel. It serves as a perfect example of why household maintenance is just the worst.

The injury-prone hurler visited three different hospitals while his condition worsened.  Eventually a doctor told him he was “on borrowed time” and a splenic embolization was performed.

“I was hours away from going into cardiac arrest and probably wouldn’t even be here,” Pavano said.

Despite what promises to be a lengthy recovery period, Pavano intends on pitching again.

[Photo via USA Today Sports]