Hunter Crawls to Safety 4 Days After Breaking His Leg in the Wilderness

(INSIDE EDITION) - A hunter who wrote farewell letters to his family after breaking his leg in the wilderness managed to get help after crawling for four days.

John Sain, 50, is now recovering in a hospital in Boise, Idaho with his wife and their two children by his side. He says his love for them made him want to survive.

He was following an elk across remote, rugged terrain near McCall, Idaho last week when his foot slipped between two logs. He broke two bones in one of his legs, leaving him in excruciating pain and unable to walk.

"I honestly didn't think I was going to make it out," Sain, an experienced hunter who lives in Riverside, California, told The Associated Press.

He was alone, miles from the trail and didn't have cellphone service. As he struggled with the pain, he said he considered taking his life.

"Contemplated on just ending it right there honestly," he said.

But after writing goodbye letters to his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, he had a change of heart. So he made a splint from sticks and cloth before starting to crawl through the wilderness. He had some food with him, as well as a water purifier and a small survival kit, and built fires to stay warm, The Associated Press reported.

Four days after the fall, two motorcyclists came across him near a trail - dehydrated and in pain.

"Thank God," he said. "I was praying the whole way that it would happen and it did. My prayers were answered for sure."

His wife later explained on her Facebook page: "John had wrote HELP on the trail hoping someone would come up there that far. It's very seldom that you would see anyone up there for days. That day was his lucky day!"

The motorcyclists chopped down some trees to clear a space so an air ambulance could land, and Sain was flown to a hospital in Boise. His wife and children - son Cole and daughter Brooke - flew to be by his side.

"It was hard just knowing that he's out in the hills just trying to stay alive," his wife said. "It still doesn't seem real to me."

She has since shared photos to Facebook showing her smiling husband wearing a leg brace. She said he will remain in the hospital until next Monday.

"He is in good spirits and I am enjoying having my husband here by my side," she wrote in an update on Thursday evening. "Our family wants to thank everyone who jumped in and took charge to help me make all the plans during this tough time."

She also shared a photo of his leg with pins holding the broken bones together.

Despite his injuries, the ordeal isn't putting Sain off. He says he plans to go hunting alone again - but not without a satellite phone or GPS locator.