Blunt Force Trauma

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Joesawer: Dang that is a scary looking widow maker. You are a lucky man!
Coastfaller: Man, John, glad to hear you're OK, that had the potential to end up alot worse than it did. Heal up fast.
Ya, I just don't get it. Accidents are few enough for the most part and the odds are slim, but I can't understand how the odds were reduced even less of more severe damage like loss of an eye or even brain damage or a broken neck.
Why I wasn't knocked out, I have no idea, but I'm excepting graciously of what little damage that resulted.
John
 
Plenty of joking around here, but can we get a little serious ?

For those of us who've been in harms way too many times, why do so many volunteer to work without protection cutting ? I am confused. Most of you are beyond adulthood. Damn, if I F-ed up like that VOLUNTARILY, it would not be a badge of courage.

Had to put foot in mouth...............flame away.:blob2:
 
Yukonsawman said:
Joesawer: Dang that is a scary looking widow maker. You are a lucky man!
Coastfaller: Man, John, glad to hear you're OK, that had the potential to end up alot worse than it did. Heal up fast.
Ya, I just don't get it. Accidents are few enough for the most part and the odds are slim, but I can't understand how the odds were reduced even less of more severe damage like loss of an eye or even brain damage or a broken neck.
Why I wasn't knocked out, I have no idea, but I'm excepting graciously of what little damage that resulted.
John
Click to expand...

It is my theory that there is a higher power that decides when our time is up.
I personally know a boy that shot himself in the head with a .380 right through the temple and it exited his other temple and he talked to the medics all the way to the hospital with brain matter hanging out of his head. He is alive an well today just slightly lobotomized.
Another man shot himself in the head with a 12 gauge and survived for years until he pulled out in front of an suv.
I have personally survived things that I cant explain.
And then we have all heard of the kid who fell down and bumped his head and died.
But I don't advocate tempting fate. For one thing stupid hurts.
 
I agree on that Joesawer. I have crawled out of wrecked cars that should have killed me,(roofs smushed to the seats, fire). Gives me the willies thinking about them now. . .
 
logbutcher said:
Plenty of joking around here, but can we get a little serious ?

For those of us who've been in harms way too many times, why do so many volunteer to work without protection cutting ? I am confused. Most of you are beyond adulthood. Damn, if I F-ed up like that VOLUNTARILY, it would not be a badge of courage.

Had to put foot in mouth...............flame away.:blob2:
Click to expand...

No, logbutcher, you did not open mouth and insert your foot.
The love of the job far out weighs any danger or fear of falling timber.
We don't laugh at the danger, but rather dance with it and hope for the best.
Fate and luck may be our best friend, or some guardian angel that gives us gentle nudges once in awhile in this life.
It's alot better way of dieing than most means I guess.
Maybe there is a God, if there is, it can't be a bad thing.
John
 
Good point Randy, I'm not really sure where I was mentaly at the time other than just being a mechanical chopper. Truth be known I was stressed out about alot of things going on in my life and was trying to stuff it somewhere else by just cutting wood.
This may have been what got me and got me before and I have gotten better at handling stress as I've gotten older.
So I guess external stress + chopping= an accident looking for a place to happen.
John
 
Yukonsawman said:
Jerry, I guess the only good thing about it was that all those spikes may have slowed down the speed of impact as I'm sure they hooked on other limbs on the way down.
It seems dead trees are alot more suspect to being chunked and flung in a dangerous way than green in most situations.
It's all in the luck of the draw I guess,
Was it hard or softwood that got flung at you Jerry?
John
Click to expand...

I was cutting along a really nice ridge of tall white spruce, these trees were 20-30" at the stump and had no limbs up to 20' or more but the tops were heavy and full up to 50-70'. I always take a good look up to see what`s up there and where it wants to fall but could not see the top clearly through all the limbs/foilage. This tree had died at the top and two limbs grew out to the side and then up 12-14' ,the dead center stayed in place until I set to cutting. Never heard it approach until it clipped a hard dead stub branch off just 5 ' above my head, next thing was crash and the light show. Damed spinal fluid burns the nose worse than blowing Pepsi out it. I was very lucky, all I got from that deal was a stiff neck and two days off working felling. I couldn`t stay home so I ran the cable skidder, not much of a reprieve but at least I was active. It took all of three days for the nasal drip to stop, when it did I felt pretty good again and went back to sawing.
That hardhat alone saved me a lot worse fate, I may or may not have been killed but I am certain I would have sustained much worse damage if it had hit me without one on. I will run a saw in the woodpile bucking without my hat on sometimes but never fell trees without one on anymore.
I talked a good buddy of mine into wearing one, he had worked felling for 14 years without wearing one but finally relented, I gave him one of mine and he hated it but kept it on as we were working close together on a big clearing job. On the 4 day he got hit with a piece like we did, the hardhat deflected it and he got a couple of rips on his left shoulder from the pin knots but could walk out on his own. A few stitches and some brusing was all the major damage. He never went back into the woods but took up truck driving, that did not work out so well but that`s another story.

Pioneerguy600
 
pioneerguy600 said:
I was cutting along a really nice ridge of tall white spruce, these trees were 20-30" at the stump and had no limbs up to 20' or more but the tops were heavy and full up to 50-70'. I always take a good look up to see what`s up there and where it wants to fall but could not see the top clearly through all the limbs/foilage. This tree had died at the top and two limbs grew out to the side and then up 12-14' ,the dead center stayed in place until I set to cutting. Never heard it approach until it clipped a hard dead stub branch off just 5 ' above my head, next thing was crash and the light show. Damed spinal fluid burns the nose worse than blowing Pepsi out it. I was very lucky, all I got from that deal was a stiff neck and two days off working felling. I couldn`t stay home so I ran the cable skidder, not much of a reprieve but at least I was active. It took all of three days for the nasal drip to stop, when it did I felt pretty good again and went back to sawing.
That hardhat alone saved me a lot worse fate, I may or may not have been killed but I am certain I would have sustained much worse damage if it had hit me without one on. I will run a saw in the woodpile bucking without my hat on sometimes but never fell trees without one on anymore.
I talked a good buddy of mine into wearing one, he had worked felling for 14 years without wearing one but finally relented, I gave him one of mine and he hated it but kept it on as we were working close together on a big clearing job. On the 4 day he got hit with a piece like we did, the hardhat deflected it and he got a couple of rips on his left shoulder from the pin knots but could walk out on his own. A few stitches and some brusing was all the major damage. He never went back into the woods but took up truck driving, that did not work out so well but that`s another story.

Pioneerguy600
Click to expand...

Good post that should wake some up!
 
Unfortunately, by the time you have learned what you need to know to get though this life safely, you don't need the information anymore . Thats why so many men are shot by jealous husbands .
 
Yukonsawman said:
Likewise Jerry, I'll be saving the best to the last as I can't go on being 'lucky'.
So I won't cut anymore without a hardhat.
John
Click to expand...

Now you my friend,..have learned a lesson the hard way.Some of us need that learning curve as we have been hard headed most of our lives and only learn from hard knocks. Saw safe.

Pioneerguy600
 

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