two summers ago was doing some clearing with a buddy, bunch of big oaks, he cuts into one on the back cut and ants had been in it damn top falls but hangs up about ten feet up from the hinge, pinched his saw, so he comes over and gets me to come help get him out, the top is laying over toward the down hill side, I do a little test cut on this spire that's ten foot tall with top still hanging to it, all seems good no load against it so I start in, that big ole oak, bout 20 inches through starts to go over the way we want, he grabs his saw and runs and i head uphill. All of a sudden I get hit in the head, saw goes flying and down I go with a huge smack on my side, I heard ribs break, then the damn thing bounces up and back down on me again. Buddy runs over and tries to lift it off, crazy but first instinct, he then grabs my saw cuz its still running right close by and starts cutting to get me out, somehow while he was cutting i wiggled out, no clue to this day how. Laid there a long time til I could sorta breath, then walked back up that hill, got in my truck (79 dodge power wagon with a 4 speed) and him in his and drove the seven miles home....Ouch. finally went to the hospital after my fiancé (now wife) got home. I had broken six ribs, four on one side two on the other, punctured one lung, which collapsed but reinflated itself, bruised both lungs, lacerated my spleen, lacerated both kidneys, bruised both kidneys, and bruised both adrenal glands. I spent two nights in the hospital but walked in and spent most of the two days walking around the place. None of the staff could believe I was alive let alone walking, 48 hours after I went in there I walked out. Boys I tell ya that was a long painful couple months after that, I still have troubles with the ribs hurting when the weather changes Hope ya'll at least learn to never trust them trees to do what you think they will, that sucker jumped uphill and towards the stump end.
