accident-westen Mass

[treeman82]

accident

A friend of mine apparently fell 20 feet yesterday from a white pine and broke his arm. From what I understand, he was not crotched in, and the limb his rope was over broke sending him down. This just happened yesterday, out in Western Mass. I believe he was working for CL Frank????

 

[Tim Gardner]

Sorry to hear this about your friend. I hope his wounds heal as well as his pride. Does he have a way of making a paycheck until he can get back in the trees?

I know a climber that fell about 50 feet and was never the same. He went from a pretty fast climber to a slow motion climber because he was worried about falling again.

 

[treeman82]

Tim, I am pretty sure that worker's comp is picking up all the tabs for his injuries... or at least I would hope it does. He has only been working there for like 2 weeks or so as of right now. I am sure that whatever money he gets from comp will go right to weed and booze... oh well.

PS. The guy I heard this from tells me that the kid's rope was out away from the trunk on a skinny limb. (mutual friends)

 

[monkeypuzzle]

.....and don't forget the worst one, cigarettes.

 

[treeman82]

I'm sorry to sound stupid about this guys, but I talked with my friend who actually got hurt on Thursday. What happened and the results were a bit different than what our mutual friend told us.

My friend said that; he was up as high as he could be in a 35 - 40 foot tall white pine. He wasn't crotched in like he should have been. Branch broke, sent him down. He didn't break his arm, but he is in a sling. He did something like tore a rotator cuff, or dislocated a rotator cuff. C cuff? Something like that.

MP- The kid gave up smoking cigarettes a couple months ago, all he does now is smoke a LOT of weed, drink a LOT of booze, and do a bit of other, stronger drugs...

 

[TREETX]

What kinda F'd-up people you call friends?? First the guy who burns his socks for warmth and now an alcoholic druggie who can't seem to stay in a tree. I'd be more careful of who I call a friend.

 

[treeman82]

Nate, I don't think that I will have to worry about the two of them for very much longer.

The druggie, with his habits, and accident history. I am sure he won't be around for too much longer.

The burning guy... he told me today, not everything... but basically that he is dying from diabetes.

 

[TREETX]

I am sorry to hear about their poor health. Hard to watch a self destructive person. Those who need help the most are usually the last ones to take it.

Hope you know I was just yankin' yer chain before.

 

[treeman82]

Nate,

When the druggie dies, I don't think it will bother me too much. It is his choice to do all those drugs. It is his choice that he smokes up during the course of the work day. It is because of those choices that he gets himself hurt, and does damage to property. (kid dropped a 30' stick on top of his aunt's house a couple of years ago)

When the burning guy dies, that will be pretty tough on me, but again, it's his choice. It's his choice to eat and eat and eat some more. It's his choice to go to the china buffet's and stay there for hours on end. It's his choice to eat unimaginable quantities of food at McDonald's. It is his choice that he doesn't get any regular excersize. It is because of these choices that he is 300 lbs and 5'8 (that's down from 320 this summer). It is because of his choices that his triglycerides are somewhere around 1000 right now (normal is something like 50 - 150) It is because of his choices that he is only able to use 50% of his lung capacity now. What is really upsetting, is that he refuses to do anything radical to lose weight. He says Slim Fast will save him. He lost about 80 lbs a couple years ago, but he was still a big guy, and obviously has gained it back. The guy is my best friend, I would do just about anything for him, and he would do anything for me, including kill.

 

[TREETX]

Friends help friends move.

REAL friends help friends move bodies !!

 

[Jock]

Pulled one of my guys off climbing cause he was diabetic, he would have felt better i think if i had shot him!, Brilliant climber but I've seen him when he weakens out and needs sugar, and thats a scary thing to see 60-70 ft up, I found out he was carrying Mars bars in his 1st aid kit!! gave him a job as a manager, but still hear he,s sneaking in the odd climb, when i'm away or on another site, the only addiction this guy has is trees, its a shame a guy like this has this problem. Jock

 

[treeman82]

Just figured I would post a quick update. I talked with the kid's father about a week ago, and the kid has just started climbing again within the past week or two. Nothing serious, just very easy stuff. I'm sure he won't be back to his normal ability for quite some time still, if ever?