Comparing the 45-year-old to TV survival expert and adventurer Bear Grylls, paramedics described how he took a calculated risk by pulling the picket from his upper leg with no help in sight.

The drama began when the man, who is trained in advanced first-aid, fell from a rock near a lookout in Brimbank Park, Keilor East, yesterday afternoon, on to a picket that speared through the upper rear part of one of his legs.

After passing out from the pain, the man regained consciousness - and had the grit to apply his belt as a tourniquet and pull the picket from his leg.

He then dragged himself 50 metres up an embankment to his car, where he called for help.

Advanced life-support paramedics Louise Wylie and Cate Jones arrived at the lookout about 7pm to find the man in his car, suffering from blood loss and the effort of his 90-minute struggle.

‘‘He’s certainly shown some Bear Grylls characteristics in removing himself from a very difficult situation,’’ Ms Wylie said.

‘‘He’s probably very fortunate in the fact that he has a level-three first-aid certificate and had a good knowledge of what he was up against.’’

But Ms Jones said she was concerned the man may have worsened his injury when he pulled the stake from his leg. She said it was important not to remove objects that pierce the skin to prevent more serious injuries and bleeding.

"The first ambulance arrived within nine minutes of the call to find the man was in severe pain, bleeding extensively and quite pale and sweaty," she said.

"I used direct pressure on the wound to help reduce the bleeding.

"We put a drip in his arm and gave him a large amount of fluid through the drip to help raise his dangerously low blood pressure."

The man was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.