Well I'm gonna tell you guys a story. I had just cut down a white oak and I was limbing it. Got to a branch that was straight up in the air, proceeded to cut it with the top of the bar... My arms were tired and I was complacent. Next thing I knew my leg was burning and cold at the same time. I looked down through my pants and saw flesh, took my belt off and wrapped it up. I limped over to my brother and told him what happened, he pulled my truck around and I got in. 5 minutes later my vision had gone completely white, couldn't see a thing. 25 minutes later we pulled into the ER. I got on the table and got the first real good look at what I just did to myself.
Just a heads up this next picture is gonna have some blood, not too bad though
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The blood on the left of my leg is just about all that I lost, I wrapped my leg so tight that the doctor said I could have done permanent nerve damage, they numbed me pretty good so I couldn't tell what was going on down there.
Here I am all stitched up, you can see how swollen and bruised my leg is. Obviously the trauma of a chain to the thigh is a lot for the body to handle.
I seriously debated if I wanted to post on here about this because frankly it's embarrassing. I thought chaps were for goobers. I thought there's no way in hell I'd need them because I'd never cut my self, I'd never be that dumb, or careless. But damn did it happen quick, and if I had chaps it could have been something way smaller. It could have been a scare and a realization that chainsaws are no joke. Instead it turned into a week and a half of no work, 2 more weeks of " light use" 36 stitches and a $3500 ER Bill (insurance covered it but still).
The moral of the story?
Don't be an ******* like me and think you are too good for safety equipment. Spend the $100 on a pair of chaps and wear them everytime you cut!