Ending the year with a bang

O

old medic

Senior Member
Location
Western NC
Well more of a THUD
Was trimming limbs from a tree over the house, My climbing rope came undone and instant later I'm facedown on the ground unable to breath.
My brother was helping me, and was getting ready to have him call 911 when the wife got home.
After a few minutes of assessing myself, they helped me into the truck and off to the ER we go.
Biggest worry was possible right hip or femur fracture, then maybe some ribs.... I'm guessing I got lucky.
Falling 20-25 foot, landing flat face down on my right side, Not hitting any of the large branches, chainsaw or head.
And walking away (well hobbling away on crutches) with a few cracked ribs, bruised lung, and some nice rope burns.
Please no jokes.... It hurts like hell to laugh....
What sucks the most is.... I gotta climb back up and finish....
 

old medic said:
Well more of a THUD
Was trimming limbs from a tree over the house, My climbing rope came undone and instant later I'm facedown on the ground unable to breath.
My brother was helping me, and was getting ready to have him call 911 when the wife got home.
After a few minutes of assessing myself, they helped me into the truck and off to the ER we go.
Biggest worry was possible right hip or femur fracture, then maybe some ribs.... I'm guessing I got lucky.
Falling 20-25 foot, landing flat face down on my right side, Not hitting any of the large branches, chainsaw or head.
And walking away (well hobbling away on crutches) with a few cracked ribs, bruised lung, and some nice rope burns.
Please no jokes.... It hurts like hell to laugh....
What sucks the most is.... I gotta climb back up and finish....
Click to expand...
i think you need to consider getting help with this if you're already on crutches and have damage to your ribs and a bruise on your lung. you might not get so lucky if you fall again.
 
You belong to a senior forum making you a senior. We are not kids anymore. My father fell off a ladder once trying to trim an apple tree after which he faced facts as to his age. I reluctantly have come to the same conclusion, but it's hard to quit believing that we are still as good as we thought we were.
 
old medic said:
Well more of a THUD
Was trimming limbs from a tree over the house, My climbing rope came undone and instant later I'm facedown on the ground unable to breath.
Click to expand...

Chain sawing and tree trimming is a Very Dangerous activity....even for a professional Arborist....Especially if you try to climb into a tree for some trimming. About the Only safe way to do such activity is to have a "lift bucket"....and even that can be risky.
I've been cutting down dead trees in our heavy forest for the past 17+ years....to feed a big outdoor wood furnace, and even though I always try to be as safe as possible....wearing a helmut/face mask and kevlar chaps, etc., I've still had to dodge a tree several times when it fell in the wrong direction, etc., or a big limb got knocked loose as it fell.

I've got a half dozen trees near the house and workshop that I keep a close eye on. If they ever show signs of causing a problem, I will hire a tree service to take them down. The cost of paying an insured professional is far less than risking major personal injury or damage to the buildings.
 
Marci...... It will be a while before I'm in condition to head back up thats for sure...
got some cleanup on the ground 1st...
It will take me longer to climb up there than to cut the 2 butt ends left.
Don... yes its a very dangerous position to get in... I started climbing and trimming at about 25.
And had some close calls over the years...
I stopped working with my buddy about 10 years ago, but kept my gear and done some light stuff
around for myself and family.
Dont get comfortable with dangerous stuff you get familiar with.... one lax moment is all it takes...
 
old medic said:
Well more of a THUD
Was trimming limbs from a tree over the house, My climbing rope came undone and instant later I'm facedown on the ground unable to breath.
My brother was helping me, and was getting ready to have him call 911 when the wife got home.
After a few minutes of assessing myself, they helped me into the truck and off to the ER we go.
Biggest worry was possible right hip or femur fracture, then maybe some ribs.... I'm guessing I got lucky.
Falling 20-25 foot, landing flat face down on my right side, Not hitting any of the large branches, chainsaw or head.
And walking away (well hobbling away on crutches) with a few cracked ribs, bruised lung, and some nice rope burns.
Please no jokes.... It hurts like hell to laugh....
What sucks the most is.... I gotta climb back up and finish....
Click to expand...
Oh no, please don't climb back up.
My wife, who I often listen to, forbids me from climbing these days.
 
old medic said:
Dont get comfortable with dangerous stuff you get familiar with.... one lax moment is all it takes...
Click to expand...

That's for sure....especially at my age. I like to get out in my forest and harvest the dead trees, but I try to spend some time checking out everything in the area, and thinking about what could go wrong before I fire up the chainsaw. So far, a few minutes of thinking everything over has allowed me to "survive"....I hope I can continue to do so.
 
@old medic, sorry to hear about your accident, glad it wasn't worse. Take care, hope you recover quickly and completely.

Get+well+Soon+greeting+card+image+photo+orkut+myspace.jpg
 
old medic said:
Well more of a THUD
Was trimming limbs from a tree over the house, My climbing rope came undone and instant later I'm facedown on the ground unable to breath.
My brother was helping me, and was getting ready to have him call 911 when the wife got home.
After a few minutes of assessing myself, they helped me into the truck and off to the ER we go.
Biggest worry was possible right hip or femur fracture, then maybe some ribs.... I'm guessing I got lucky.
Falling 20-25 foot, landing flat face down on my right side, Not hitting any of the large branches, chainsaw or head.
And walking away (well hobbling away on crutches) with a few cracked ribs, bruised lung, and some nice rope burns.
Please no jokes.... It hurts like hell to laugh....
What sucks the most is.... I gotta climb back up and finish....
Click to expand...
Yeah, that does suck! I hope you're not in too much pain and you have something for that. I hope you get better sooner than later! Happy New Year anyways to you!
 
Ruthanne said:
I hope you're not in too much pain and you have something for that
Click to expand...
I turned down the offers for pain meds several times. I have many short moments I regret that choice but they pass.
Just taking Naproxen. I truly believe that the pain meds will allow the body to "think" its ok,
and you end up doing more damage instead of healing.
Like the old joke.... Dr it hurts when I do this..... Dr replies, well don't do that.
 
Don M. said:
So far, a few minutes of thinking everything over has allowed me to "survive"
Click to expand...
I have spent many days reviewing this tree and planning my approach. My tree service friend and I sat and discussed it.
It needs to just come down, but the wife want to try and keep it. still it needed to be topped out to come down anyway.
Its about 2.5 foot at the base, and almost corkscrews up. One big limb went out over the house and forked.
They fell perfect as planned. another large fork on the heavy side also dropped fine.
the only drop that didnt go as planned was me... LOL.
My Brother had picked up all the gear but after looking everything over and talking with him.
Found the rope was frayed in the contact spot the prussik slip knot was tied, but not melted.
Having done this many times over many years I'm still trying to figure out the why...
 

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