Miles O'Brien Opens Up About Going To 'Dark Place' After Losing His Arm

Miles O'Brien has seemed remarkably positive in public since losing his arm last month, but the PBS correspondent said Wednesday that he worked to get away from a "dark place" after the incident.

He had to have his arm amputated in February after a case of television equipment fell on him. He revealed what had happened in an essay just two weeks later, and has continued to work on reports for "PBS NewsHour."

O'Brien, who is also a pilot, appeared on CNN Wednesday night to discuss the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Host Erin Burnett marveled at what she called his "positive" attitude.

"It's just incredible to look at you and you just seem so normal, you're being so gracious about it," Burnett said. "How have you been able to be so positive?"

"To me there’s two choices: you can either look at it as yet another challenge in life, something you need to overcome, or you end up in a very dark place," O'Brien said. "I didn’t like the dark place when I went down that road briefly. So I’m going to stay on this road and work on the challenge."

Burnett asked how he "got off the dark path." O'Brien — who said that he is concentrated on getting a prosthetic arm and being able to shoot video and fly again — explained that focusing on his work and looking at people around him overcoming challenges like cancer have helped keep him going.

His comments Wednesday echoed a sentiment he expressed earlier this month. He spoke to Judy Woodruff about the aftermath of his amputation and said, "You have a choice in life, wherever you are in life... I love what Winston Churchill said. You know, if you’re going through hell, just keep going."

(h/t TV Newser)