Dont let this happen to you!

[avalancher]

Back in November I was working on a leaning white oak for a customer,it had fallen part way and lodged in a nearby tree and he wanted it gone without any damage to the remaining tree.Sounds pretty simple doesnt it?

I climbed up the leaner,trimmed off a bunch of branches that was holding it in the tree, and came back down after securing a pull line.Tied in to the winch line,cut the base off and began my pull.

Now, I dont know about you guys, but up in a tree I wear a climbing helmet, and on the ground just your run of the mill forestry helmet.Always figured it was plenty of protection.Now I am starting to wonder.

As the tree began its steady descent away from the tree it was lodged in, one of the branches that I had cut had remained in the trees.Under the pressure of the winch it bowed up and snapped loose, and a piece of it came out of the trees like an arrow.Caught me right alongside my head, right below the brim of my helmet.
It hurt like the ####ens, and I spent some time sitting in the truck nursing a bottle of water until the stars cleared out.Then back to work.Seems like everything was going to be okay.No dizziness or blurry vision.

Fast forward to end of January,started having an earache, and after a week went by and it didnt get better I went to see the doc.He gave me some antibiotics and i went home.But the ache never went away, and finally I went to see another doc.After three more rounds of antibiotics, she requested an X-ray, and it revealed some pretty serious cracks in the noggin.

An MRI and a Cat scan later, I was diagnosed with matoiditous, an infection of the bone right behind the ear.Heavy antibiotics did nothing, and i was sent to a specialists.

The specialist put me down for 28 days of the heaviest oral antibiotics they have, and still nothing.My only choice is for them to drill a hole in my ear,insert a tube, and let things drain.If that fails, I will have to have a part of the mastoid bone removed from my skull.

I have thought long and hard about this, and in all honesty I dont see where I could have done things any different.Maybe Im wrong.I wear a helmet in a tree and on the ground,gloves,eye and ear protection, and chaps when it is called for.I guess I am going to have to chalk this up to a freak accident that really couldnt have been prevented, but it did teach me one thing.Even when a hundred feet away from a falling tree, things can happen.

Something to think about guys.

 

[banshee67]

well, i know it might sound silly, but i like to always keep in mind "it could have been worse".. you could be in a coma, you could be dead, luckily youre sitting safe at your computer sharing the story with us. be happy for that.
#### happens sometimes, at least you got up and went to the doctors to take care of it. thats half the battle.
hope you are doing good and make a fast recovery , ill kill a tree in your honor.:greenchainsaw:

 

[isaaccarlson]

that hurts....hope the tube works. I hear ya on the helmet thing. It cant save something it doesn't cover.

 

[alderman]

Sucks when you do everything right and it goes wrong anyway. Here's hoping for a quick recovery

 

[BuddhaKat]

Geeze, that sucks. Did the Dr. say anything about trying Vancomycin? That's a super strong antibiotic. The drawback to it is that it has to go in through an I.V. and it's a tough antibiotic for the body to handle. I had to have a picc line put in and went through 20 days in the hospital last year to get it all in me. Not fun, but much better than having a chunk of your skull taken out.

Don't, and I mean don's take this lightly. A bone infection in the skull can easily make the jump into your brain. THAT could kill you.

 

[avalancher]

I told the doc that I wanted to think about it overnight, not real wild about having someone drill a hole in my ear and sticking anything in it I guess.figured to talk to the wife when she gets home, and maybe get a second opinion.

For right now, Im doing alright.Pain in the side of my head is nagging, and the ear rings to the point its kinda hard to hear real good.I did a quick look on Google about it, seems that the doc is right on track with the tube in the ear thing,rarely does it not work.According to what I read, tube stays in the ear for a year or two and will often work itself out.

If it actually comes to having a chunk taken out of my skull, you can bet I will see every doc within 500 miles before I go that route.Last resort so to speak.
But on the plus side, like Banshee mentioned, I lucked out in that it didnt kill me right out.Bummer that thing didnt hit two inches higherk, I would have a good story to tell and a dented helmet to back it up with!
Thanks for all the well wishes.

 

[GPETER]

I have thought long and hard about this, and in all honesty I dont see where I could have done things any different.

My condolences and no disrespect but you could have visited a hospital right after it happened and the infection could have been prevented then.
a stitch in time...

 

[avalancher]

My condolences and no disrespect but you could have visited a hospital right after it happened and the infection could have been prevented then.
a stitch in time...

Yeah, maybe your right. But, on the other hand,if I went to the ER everytime I got wacked on something, I would spend more time in the ER than at work. I dont know what you do for a living, but getting bashed around seems to be just part of the job in tree work. I have always figured that if it doest hurt much three days later, it isnt serious.

I am willing to bet that even if I had gone to the ER with a whack to the noggin, nothing would have been done anyway.Not like a crack in the skull is that uncommon. MRI revealed several cracks that had healed themselves nicely on both sides of my head, and one good one over my left eye.There are probably a lot of you wandering around right now with healed cracks in the head.

Less than one percent of people who take a crack in the head develop any further problems beyond a headache or so.Specialist told me that less than one in one thousand actually develop mastoiditous and of those, less than one percent actually progress on to something more serious like meningitus, an infection of the brain.

 

[danrclem]

I hope that everything works out ok for you. I'm somewhat accident prone but not nearly as much as you are. I'm not saying this is the case for what happened to you this time but I've found if I don't try to move as fast things usually go smoother. I know sometimes it's hard for a person geared for moving fast to slow down but I think the older I get the easier it gets. Anyway I wish you the best and the drain tube sounds like it may be the best thing for you to do.

 

[GPETER]

Yeah you are probably right, and I am no saint I have busted myself plenty of times now (shoulder, ribs, broken ankle, etc.) and not gone to the er because of the time that it takes... Even with publicly funded healthcare!

But the head, I would err more to the cautious side...

 

[Mike PA]

To be technical, like most accidents, this could have been prevented by clearing the area better and taking more time to consider the consequences. I say this only because it was a branch that you cut that caused this to happen. However, it does not sound like it could have reasonably been prevented, as it would be very difficult to predict that this would happen. It's a one in a million shot.

This is the reason, though, that I am wary of winches. I would much rather be inside a cab protected by flying debris. I have pulled crap out of trees and had pieces fly in unexpected directions.

Hope all goes well for you. Having a tube sticking out of your head doesn't sound very pleasant. BTW - I would not have gone to the doctor when I got hit either. I would have checked for concussion and moved on if I didn't have one.

 

[savageactor7]

Sorry to hear about that avalancher ...good luck with the surgery to eliminate the pain.

That's the problem with this thing of ours, you can get hurt anytime no matter how well you calculate and control risk.

...just the other day while splitting wood I thanked God, for no particular reason.

 

[RVALUE]

Yikes. Hope you get better faster.

 

[RVALUE]

Yeah you are probably right, and I am no saint I have busted myself plenty of times now (shoulder, ribs, broken ankle, etc.) and not gone to the er because of the time that it takes... Even with publicly funded healthcare!

But the head, I would err more to the cautious side...

I thought Jeeps were made in Canada????? Nice 'yota.

Now back to avalancher.

 

[mga]

damn, avalancher...that's a freaky accident! i sure hope everything works out for the better!

but, thinking about the helmets wood cutter use, wouldn't it seem more appropriate if they covered the sides of the head as well? the design of them seems to be from years back when protection just from falling debris was the concern. sometimes traditions need to be looked at and maybe improved.

 

[avalancher]

damn, avalancher...that's a freaky accident! i sure hope everything works out for the better!

but, thinking about the helmets wood cutter use, wouldn't it seem more appropriate if they covered the sides of the head as well? the design of them seems to be from years back when protection just from falling debris was the concern. sometimes traditions need to be looked at and maybe improved.

Yeah, I have now given serious thought to wearing my climbing helmet full time.It actually fits better,has a strap to hold it on your head, and is a good bit cooler in the summer time.Cant tell you how many times I have had a forestry helmet knocked off my head by beating through the brush.Up to now just didnt want to look like a tard walking around with climbin helmet on while firmly planted on the ground.
but, after looking at the films of my head, its a wonder I am still up walking around.spider webs all over my skull aint pretty.

 

[Muffler Bearing]

I Wish You A Speedy Recovery.


On The Lighter Side.
You Got One He$$ Of A Story To Tell The Grand-Kids.


Best Of Luck!

 

[mga]

Yeah, I have now given serious thought to wearing my climbing helmet full time.It actually fits better,has a strap to hold it on your head, and is a good bit cooler in the summer time.Cant tell you how many times I have had a forestry helmet knocked off my head by beating through the brush.Up to now just didnt want to look like a tard walking around with climbin helmet on while firmly planted on the ground.
but, after looking at the films of my head, its a wonder I am still up walking around.spider webs all over my skull aint pretty.

don't laugh...there's times i would have worn a motorcycle helmet in thick brush.

the camera crew wears the full helmet on that logging show. ever see them?

 

[boltonranger]

I'm sorry Avie;
I really hope you get relief soon.
Best of Health to you.
-br

 

[treemandan]

Sorry to hear man.