Mmm, second time I’ve begun this post, inadvertently hit the wrong button….fingers are not yet up to snuff, the reason will be apparent ere long.
Most safety posts come from in the shop, well mine is not…it comes from my day job – construction….the shop is my greatest toy and pleasure right up there with fishing, if that tells you anything.
While at my ‘day job’ in April, finishing up a house I began a few months prior – I was on a ladder sanding a wall that was finished in old long leaf flooring. I was at the top of a 10′ ladder, one of those fiberglass’s, nice ladder, but it ‘walks.’ And it did….I like to think I would have been okay, but hit my head on the floor of an upper room opening first, that dazed me and I went the rest of the way free-fall. I live about 700′ from the job (Is that not cool!!?). My wife was home, it was a Sat., she heard the commotion, and thought she would walk over. She found me on the floor in a seizure, and called 911. I was star-flighted to nearby Austin, tx., and then it all hit the fan; Skull fractured in 3 places, 4 brain contusions, lumbar #1 a compression fracture, the worst whack on the head was where memory and reason and all that reside….then renal failure, kidney went whack, lung collapsed, heart went into fillibration; I.e.: damned near every organ I have put up a fuss at least once….oh, couple more seizures to round it all out. Spent 2 1/2 mo. in hospital (and I hate A.C.!), Dr. says I am retired…;…he says I may make it back to the shop to work on projects for sale in about another 3-4 months!!!
I know, I do go on, the reason being, if I had stopped for one second when my mind first fussed at me for my technique I would still have had this strong beautiful body in great shape for a 66 yr. old fart. My client gave me free reign on anything with the project, I had no problem stopping, spending 45′ to build a moveabole platform to stand on, etc…..but I didn’t want to take the time, stupid !@#$%^&*. Now, I don’t have the chance to learn, I can’t ever put myself in that place again to show that I have learned, know what I mean???? I just isn’t worth it.
Now, you can learn :)_ Jeff
Replies
What a bummer! But thanks for sharing! Maybe some of us Bull heads will take your experience to heart.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
First condolences, and second -- so glad you made it through all that to post your story!
Ladders are dangerous things, far more so than most of us realize. You don't have to fall far on one (or from one) to be hurt badly, and it's oh-so-easy to reach further than we should, carry more than we should, whatever, when we get focused on getting a job done.
We lost a local long-standing business owner in our community last year when he fell off a ladder while cleaning his gutter (a persistant job in the NW). At least one friend of his had expressed concern about his "technique" but he ignored the advice, took a tumble and was gone, gone, gone.
Yup. Head the advice, like I said, if I had only listen to my own head, all would have been alright. Thanks for your kind thoughts.One thing one of the Dr.s said to me that I have remembered since...."Well, Jeff, nobody means to fall?!). So simple, so true. Perhaps when one gets on a ladder, one should think they mean to fall, thereby being more careful?:)J
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