Saturday's Fall

Just a quick note to inform those that do not already know and to document a small piece of my history.

Saturday Coach Simmons and I had a tree job at the Belton Church of Christ. We were going to remove 4 large hackberry trees that were on the BCC property but were hanging onto the Brooks property and were making quite a mess. We also had one large elm tree to cut down that was again on the church property.

The four hackberrys came down really well, with no hang-ups on the power lines they were surrounded by and the fence that they sat up against. We finished about 2:20 and headed toward this one large elm that stood about 40 to 45 feet tall and was hanging over the Brooks' fence and storage shed.

Coach Simmons and I decided on where to start and how we both thought the tree would come down. I was in a ladder about 25 feet up the tree, cutting on a limb that hung out over the shed. The limb was tied off and we expected it to swing down below me, but away from the ladder. Elm trees typically bend and do not break so we were not expecting any trouble. As I was slowly cutting through the limb it started to bend just as we expected, but then it broke off at the cut and came right at me. That is the last thing I remember. The next thing I recall is being on the ground with Coach Simmons over me, pain rushing through the right side of my back. The ambulance was called and before I knew what was happening I had a CV collar on and the EMT's were cutting off my clothes and starting an IV. Next was the ER at Scott and White in Temple. Chest x-rays, and a CT scan and morphine and I was off to a room on the fifth floor. CV collar stayed on until 11:30 the next morning when they finally decided that my spine did not have any fractures and I would be cleared to go home that day.

Turns out that I had quit breathing for about 25 seconds after I hit the ground. The fall was estimated at about 20 feet. Coach Simmons said they were about to start CPR when I finally coughed up a lung full of saw dust and green crap. Final result was the fracture of ribs 1 through 4 on the right side and a punctured lung. I am home tonight and very grateful for the relatively minor injuries that I sustained.

Hope you had a good weekend. This little incident did ruin our plans for a date night to Salado for the annual Christmas stroll, but Shar said we could make that up another time.