REALLY sorry about the accident, but, you are alive!! A friend of mine, Professional timber faller, now works with the county road dept. He was cutting a pretty good sized fir, it started to go, so he was getting away from it. The tree apparently knocked the top out of another tree beside it, that top landed on my friend, broke his right femur, fractured his neck in several places, and broke some ribs as well as took some chunks of skin out of his back. The ''safe'' dr said he could go back to work anytime. He checked with his surgeon, He told him, he'll be lucky to go back AFTER CHRISTMAS! He's going with what his surgeon says. He's still uses a walker and its been tough on him. You hang in there and work at getting healed up. Above all do what YOUR ''nurse'' (wife) tells you to do, SHE does know BEST!!
Sorry to hear Walt, but glad to hear that it wasnt as bad as it could have been. I hope you heal quickly!
Wow, Walt. Jim said it right. That made me wince a couple times. We'll continue to pray and thank our Lord for your recovery. Call me if/when you need anything. We're here for you and Robin.
Thanks for the debrief Walt. Our wishes for a fast recovery. BTW: kudos for the honest account and lessons for all of us.
walt , guessing it's too late to try and hobble in to work like nothing happened and then say you fell so you can get workman's comp? Not that I would ever do that.
Well, walt is retired, so that’s not even a viable option, and certainly not one Walt would ever consider given I’ve known him for several years...
Sad to hear your story but great that you survived.These terrible situations are a lesson for us all.Felling a tree is no joke.Your ordeal will have us all looking out for higher up horizontal limbs and where they might fall.Another stated the situation of one tree taking the top off another tree when it came down and that top hitting the cutter.Who would of thought of it and now all of us will.I had a near miss that I didn't see coming when felling a maple one year.I cut my wedge and did my back cut to fell it where I wanted it.I didn't notice that the wind was pushing the tree back towards my back cut.Suddenly as the back cut got deeper the trunk of the tree broke off rapidly and slid down the stump an inch from my foot.That thing would have crushed or taken off my foot if it had landed on it.Another lesson learned gratefully this time without injury.Thanks for sharing your story.Pray you come back 100 %.
Been cutting wood so long that i take it for granted, this thread has reminded me how dangerous it can be. Thank you for sharing and good to hear you are still on the right side of the grass and mending.
I owe Walt a big thanks for the reminder that what we do can hurt...seriously. Ironic that the most dangerous activity we do daily we don't think about much: DRIVING. And dependent on the gibones out htere on fon, fiddling with the infotainment, dreaming, or plain stupid aggressive. We train for S.I. ( Situational Awareness ) when on flying, maneuvers, rocks, winter mountaineering, teaching, etc... But with something we take for granted such as felling or in the car, we too often lose the need for S.I. Thank you Walt....get well.
Holy sheet man! Glad you're still here to write us. A 10" limb is more like a small tree. I can't imagine the force.
Autos are safer than ever. During the pandemic, with fewer cars on the road the death rate climbed. Attribution: speed (mixed with pooor driving skills) kills. Speed kills amongst many activities.
walt I hope you aren’t in too much pain and that you heal quickly. Thank you for reminding us how dangerous wood cutting can be. Safety first!
Wow that was a close one. It seems like you took all the precautions before you cut that tree. I guess we never know. Stay on the mend and get well soon walt
Holy Cow Walt, glad to hear you're on the mend but hate to hear about your injuries. Take care of yourself !
damm sorry to hear this happened to you, Walt. I lost an uncle this last year to a limb under tension that sprang and crushed him while he was limbing out the trunk he'd just felled.
Walt gave us this to talk about. Get well. Ask your fav local L.E. officer what he worries about on the road. Macho driving for both ( errrr --ALL ) sexes, inattention, drinking, lap dogs on the steering wheel, drugs- especially legalized ganja, and those inpatient %&$#@s cutting you off or tailgating. Don't forget all the AI so called radar "safety" tools to save you. Too many auto tools taking away your ability to control. Though backup video works well for those of us with whiny necks and backs. Rant over.
I hope the healing goes great. Could you share a little more about the branch that found you? What would you have done different? Thanks
I think if I had that morning to do over I guess I would look that tree over for anything not right in the top. I still might not seen the danger. I did know that wind had damaged that tree. I didn't get to see the limb or the tree after it was down because they carted me off to the hospital. I have shared this so maybe someone from this fine forum learns from it and doesn't have to go through this or worse. Think it is going to be a long winter but having this forum will sure help
