A very good friend of mine contacted me and asked if I would go to Columbus to cut two trees that had blown down and cut down 6 or 7 other trees, that needed to come down. Columbus is 50 or 60 miles south and I don't enjoy going to the big city. These trees were on his church property which is about 6 acres. Well I told I would not promise anything. I had not seen these trees and he might have to hire a bucket truck, it I didn't think I could safely take them down. So I loaded my SUV with everything i thought I needed. Thursday morning, Nov 19th, my good friend Pat came to the house and I had him drive my SUV to the big city. Pulled into his church, and it was a nice crisp morning, very still. I told Pat we will cut down what trees need to come down before we clean up. I fueled up the 395xp with the 32" bar and the 572xpg with 24" bar. I grabbed my canvas wedge bag and my helmet. Seemed like it was no time 7 trees were horizontal. Pat and I walked to the front yard of the church, by this time Pat's son Alan had arrived. There was a sugar maple bought 24" DBH with the top out of it. Soon as I walked up to it, I thought this was great, saved the easiest one for last. There was a big limb leaning out of it touching the ground. I fired up the 572 and did some relief cuts and we cleared that limb out of the way. Shut the saw off and we looked everything over. My wife Robin laid the law down that I wasn't to cut trees down by myself. So when I get ready to cut a tree down I ask whoever I am with to look at the tree with me. This tree had the nicest natural lean toward the open yard where I wanted it to go. Put a nice clean notch on the front, shut saw off and looked everything over one more time. Fired up the saw bore cut setting up a perfect hing, then brought the bar straight back and out. The maple started over nice and easy. I shut the saw off and started walking away, on a 45 degree angle exit route and that is when it happened. I heard Pat and his son Alan yell, look out for that limb. By that time it had hit me and drove me into the ground. It would the easier to list the things that didn't hurt than the things that did. 911 was called, Pat and Alan used a battery sawzall to cut small. Small branches away from me. Never lost consciousness. Paramedics got me loaded and wanted to go to, take me to the one with the best food and prettiest nurses. So I spent 6 days in the hospital with a small list of injuries. Dislocated left ankle Broken left ankle Broken left tibia Broken right ankle Had big lump on back of head and helmet was heavily damaged. I think the helmet saved my life. I had many abrasions, bruises and sore spots. My back hurt so bad the first couple of days, I couldn't roll over in the hospital bed by myself. The doctors operated and put plates, screws, and kevlar in my left ankle. I can put no weight on it for 8-12 weeks. It has a cast. The right foot has a big plastic boot that I can put some weight on. If out wasn't for the Covid, I would have went to a nursing home from the hospital. This is far more than I have ever wrote on this forum but I wanted to share this story so that it would remind everyone to be extra careful. Thank you for all the prayers from my FHC family.
Dammit man, hate to read this. Glad you survived. Things can happen in a split second. I think we all tend to forget how quick it can happen. Best wishes with your recovery.
Hard to like that Walt... Take it easy and get recouped....Thanks for sharing, on how quickly things can go hay wired... Cause anyone that has seen you in action knows how many safety precautions you take... I’ve learned a lot from watching you.. Brother take care....
So sorry to hear about your mishap Walt. Grateful you weren't alone when the tree struck back. Sure feel bad for your wife now though.
Wow!!! Thats scary. You are a model for safety and safe practices and this goes to show it can happen to anyone at anytime AND how dangerous what we can be. Glad you are "okay" and it couldve been a lot worse. Heal up fast Walt! PS: any pics of the pretty nurses?
Wow that is terrible! So glad you are relatively ok considering the other possible outcomes. PPE to the rescue - thank God you were wearing a helmet!! Hope you get well soon.
At least you’re home walt with the prettiest nurse you could ever have at your side!!! Rest up brother- the saws will be ready when you are. We love y’all- our best to you, Robin and the boys. E & B VW
Wow, Walt, what a story, so sorry it happened but sure glad you had the helmet on. Can you explain anything about the limb, where it came from and such? (EDIT: Have you come up with any way you could have prevented the injuries? Did you take your eye off the tree in your escape? I am always eager to learn. FWIW, I am a pilot and read as many accident reports as I can to learn what went wrong and how to prevent.) Your relating this is providing a lesson. Just within the past few days, I wrote a response to a thread and said the even with the most experienced expert, things can go wrong with trees. I hope you heal fast!
I do have a theory as to where that limb came from. I think it might have been vertical up in the crown. A sugar maple out in an open yard is going to crown out more than one in the woods. When looking up into a tree I am felling I am always looking for anything laying horizontal (aka widowmaker)with three of us looking if it was horizontal I think we would have seen it. The limb was bout 10" in diameter. I have relived this in my mind a few times.
