# I'm lucky to have the injurys I have



## DeAvilaTree

I wanted to share my recent accident with you guys. On 7/7 I was finishing up the day with a small cabling job. I was parked on the street and I snaked my way thru the pole wires to get to my tree in my bucket truck. Finished the job and was making my out to fold up the boom. As I turning a piece of my plywood that I store next to the turrent hit my upper/lower selector switch and one of my boom controls. It took my control away from me, and sent me up while I was under the primary wires. I yelled to my helper to clear the wood but he couldn't it was wedged to tight, so I told him to shut down the truck. He got the truck shut down and he heard me hit the ground.
Before I fell I sat down inside my bucket thought for sure Iwas going to get fried. I braced myself as much as I could. The bucket broke and emptied me and the liner I fell 40' and landed in the street. That was the last thing I remembered.
I woke up day later in hospital. I ended up with 13kv burn on my forehead,arm,and just under armpit, I broke 4 ribs 2 on each side, bruised both lungs, broke my upper left arm,shattered my elbow, broke my pelvic bone 8 places, shattered my tailbone, internial bleeding of my pelvic area, and lots of nerve damage in my left leg.
Needless to say I'm typing this from my hospital bed right now, hopefuly I'll be able to walk in 7-11 weeks. Lucky with the injurys I have.


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## lone wolf

DeAvilaTree said:


> I wanted to share my recent accident with you guys. On 7/7 I was finishing up the day with a small cabling job. I was parked on the street and I snaked my way thru the pole wires to get to my tree in my bucket truck. Finished the job and was making my out to fold up the boom. As I turning a piece of my plywood that I store next to the turrent hit my upper/lower selector switch and one of my boom controls. It took my control away from me, and sent me up while I was under the primary wires. I yelled to my helper to clear the wood but he couldn't it was wedged to tight, so I told him to shut down the truck. He got the truck shut down and he heard me hit the ground.
> Before I fell I sat down inside my bucket thought for sure Iwas going to get fried. I braced myself as much as I could. The bucket broke and emptied me and the liner I fell 40' and landed in the street. That was the last thing I remembered.
> I woke up day later in hospital. I ended up with 13kv burn on my forehead,arm,and just under armpit, I broke 4 ribs 2 on each side, bruised both lungs, broke my upper left arm,shattered my elbow, broke my pelvic bone 8 places, shattered my tailbone, internial bleeding of my pelvic area, and lots of nerve damage in my left leg.
> Needless to say I'm typing this from my hospital bed right now, hopefuly I'll be able to walk in 7-11 weeks. Lucky with the injurys I have.


 Good God man you are lucky.I cant believe you can type after that .Well I guess you are one strong guy.Amazing story really.Heal well my friend.


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## sawinredneck

Damn lucky and a damn good attitude about it! I hope you heal soon and glad you posted this, it takes balls to admit our mess ups!
Maybe someone can learn from this, even as careful as you are, things happen. People get mad at us when we talk about how dangerous this industry is and try to caution them. It's sad to hear stories like this, even with experience you can't be prepared enough!
Good luck to you and keep up the good spirits, it helps the healing process!


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## Rftreeman

I'll start with I very glad you're alive and end with this, I hope you learned two very important lessons here......


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## Sagetown

You were very fortunate my friend. That was some quick thinking.  
I knew of a similar event years ago, and the guy perished in a horrible scene. 
Hope you have a good and speedy recovery.:msp_wink:


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## Bounty Hunter

DeAvilaTree said:


> I wanted to share my recent accident with you guys. On 7/7 I was finishing up the day with a small cabling job. I was parked on the street and I snaked my way thru the pole wires to get to my tree in my bucket truck. Finished the job and was making my out to fold up the boom. As I turning a piece of my plywood that I store next to the turrent hit my upper/lower selector switch and one of my boom controls. It took my control away from me, and sent me up while I was under the primary wires. I yelled to my helper to clear the wood but he couldn't it was wedged to tight, so I told him to shut down the truck. He got the truck shut down and he heard me hit the ground.
> Before I fell I sat down inside my bucket thought for sure Iwas going to get fried. I braced myself as much as I could. The bucket broke and emptied me and the liner I fell 40' and landed in the street. That was the last thing I remembered.
> I woke up day later in hospital. I ended up with 13kv burn on my forehead,arm,and just under armpit, I broke 4 ribs 2 on each side, bruised both lungs, broke my upper left arm,shattered my elbow, broke my pelvic bone 8 places, shattered my tailbone, internial bleeding of my pelvic area, and lots of nerve damage in my left leg.
> Needless to say I'm typing this from my hospital bed right now, hopefuly I'll be able to walk in 7-11 weeks. Lucky with the injurys I have.


 
WOW Brother...That's an amazing story...glad yer able to write about it, and tell your friends here on ArboristSite. 

Get well soon, and keep us posted...i know the recovery is gonna be tough, especially the pelvic injury...ouch! Make sure ya follow the Physical Therapist's orders, and keep yer strength and mobility up on the parts and muscles of your body that you can work out with. Take vitamin and mineral supplements, and branched-chain amino acids (clear it with yer MD first) they will help with the healing process. 

At least you will have a little more time to hang out on AS! 

Take good care of yerself and keep posting Brother!


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## deevo

DeAvilaTree said:


> I wanted to share my recent accident with you guys. On 7/7 I was finishing up the day with a small cabling job. I was parked on the street and I snaked my way thru the pole wires to get to my tree in my bucket truck. Finished the job and was making my out to fold up the boom. As I turning a piece of my plywood that I store next to the turrent hit my upper/lower selector switch and one of my boom controls. It took my control away from me, and sent me up while I was under the primary wires. I yelled to my helper to clear the wood but he couldn't it was wedged to tight, so I told him to shut down the truck. He got the truck shut down and he heard me hit the ground.
> Before I fell I sat down inside my bucket thought for sure Iwas going to get fried. I braced myself as much as I could. The bucket broke and emptied me and the liner I fell 40' and landed in the street. That was the last thing I remembered.
> I woke up day later in hospital. I ended up with 13kv burn on my forehead,arm,and just under armpit, I broke 4 ribs 2 on each side, bruised both lungs, broke my upper left arm,shattered my elbow, broke my pelvic bone 8 places, shattered my tailbone, internial bleeding of my pelvic area, and lots of nerve damage in my left leg.
> Needless to say I'm typing this from my hospital bed right now, hopefuly I'll be able to walk in 7-11 weeks. Lucky with the injurys I have.


 Wow, that's quite an accident, glad you are still here and hope you have a speedy recovery!


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## HILLBILLYREDNEC

Sorry to hear of your accident. Hope you can recover well. Question in my mind is were you wearing a fall arrest harness or not? Seems to me you got away with life considering the fall height.


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## DeAvilaTree

HILLBILLYREDNEC said:


> Sorry to hear of your accident. Hope you can recover well. Question in my mind is were you wearing a fall arrest harness or not? Seems to me you got away with life considering the fall height.


 
i was not wearing a fall arrest, from now on I won't go up with out one. A stupid way to learn my lesson but it's learned now and I have to take care of my familly and friends they need me I'm not going to risk that ever again.


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## HILLBILLYREDNEC

I am glad to hear you made it. Were you working for yourself or a employer? I watch a friend do something similar and the harness saved him alot of pain and suffering.


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## DeAvilaTree

I'm the owner of the company


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## HILLBILLYREDNEC

Did you have to report it to the state OSHA office? In my state even owner/operators are required to report all major accidents.


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## DeAvilaTree

In Mass. the fire dept. is required to report it. I have to meet with him when I'm feeling better. I'm not being punished or fined, but they want to educate me on safty procedures


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## mattfr12

DeAvilaTree said:


> In Mass. the fire dept. is required to report it. I have to meet with him when I'm feeling better. I'm not being punished or fined, but they want to educate me on safty procedures


 
what caused the bucket to break just the contact with the wires?


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## Komitet

Glad to hear you're pulling through, was there no emergency stop with the upper controls? Whether it was on lower or upper selector it should have stopped the hydraulics.


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## DeAvilaTree

The truck is older it doesn't have an e-stop, my bucket has a rating of 300lbs. the truck was trying to lift the pole out of the ground.


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## tree MDS

DeAvilaTree said:


> The truck is older it doesn't have an e-stop, my bucket has a rating of 300lbs. the truck was trying to lift the pole out of the ground.



The whole deal sound horrible dude! Hope you heal up well. Truely sorry to hear of such a thing..

Stay strong brother!


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## flushcut

Heal up quick and don't forget to buy your guardian angel a beer.


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## promac850

Good grief... I hope you heal up quick. Sounds like that left leg damage might result in a unique walk... 

Power lines and humans ain't a good match... ouch.

I've seen much worse damage caused by a human contacting a power line... one guy's (yes, I saw the photos in a safety class at the tech center) muscles contracted with more than enough force to completely crush almost every bone in his body... it wasn't pretty... imagine shards of the femurs, tibia, fibula, humorous, radius, ulna, and just about everything else like his ribs, were broken too. OUCH... he survived, but can't move around much...

Like you said, you are very lucky to have survived this accident, especially factoring in the 40 foot fall... damn, that really sucks.


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## tree MDS

promac610 said:


> Good grief... I hope you heal up quick. Sounds like that left leg damage might result in a unique walk...
> 
> Power lines and humans ain't a good match... ouch.
> 
> I've seen much worse damage caused by a human contacting a power line... one guy's (yes, I saw the photos in a safety class at the tech center) muscles contracted with more than enough force to completely crush almost every bone in his body... it wasn't pretty... imagine shards of the femurs, tibia, fibula, humorous, radius, ulna, and just about everything else like his ribs, were broken too. OUCH... he survived, but can't move around much...
> 
> Like you said, you are very lucky to have survived this accident, especially factoring in the 40 foot fall... damn, that really sucks.


 
Jesus, that's a horrible thing to imagine... thankfully the horror is offset by your avatar!


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## promac850

tree MDS said:


> Jesus, that's a horrible thing to imagine... thankfully the horror is offset by your avatar!


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## dancan

Glad your still with us !
I don't have anything witty to say so just heal up and get back to work !


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## Karl Robbers

Damn lucky my man.

Sounds like fall arrest may not have helped you anyway seeing as how the bucket broke, (you may have lost your anchor point).
Will the fact that you were not using all safety equipment affect any insurance payout? I sure hope not.
Worst thing is when you eventually go back to work, big brother will probably watch you like a hawk - lots of spot audits and random checks.
At least you are alive and kicking.


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## PLMCRZY

Isnt it just amazing how good our hospitals are! They fix you right up usually. I had a bad accident about 2 years ago paramedics got to me when i had lost over 2 and half liters of blood and my blood pressure was 80/40. I got starflighted to the nearest hospital next morning i woke up and was alive and doing fine!

Glad you made it, but dont ever put aside safety. Some of it is cumbersome, but its there for a reason. Especially when you have a family...jeez!


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## esshup

I'm glad to hear that you're alive and well (as well as can be expected). I can't imagine taking a 4 story fall and still be around. Please do what the docs recommend and go thru with all the PT that's recommended. It will make the healing process go quicker.


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## z71mike

I also recommend seeing a chiropractor regularly from now on. Combine that with the PT and you'll heal in half the time. Worked for me when I destroyed my knee, and my wife when she blew her hip out.

This is why we all pay into Disability. I don't mind when it goes somewhere useful like this incident. Safe and quick recovery, brother. God speed.


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## cheeves

DeAvilaTree said:


> I wanted to share my recent accident with you guys. On 7/7 I was finishing up the day with a small cabling job. I was parked on the street and I snaked my way thru the pole wires to get to my tree in my bucket truck. Finished the job and was making my out to fold up the boom. As I turning a piece of my plywood that I store next to the turrent hit my upper/lower selector switch and one of my boom controls. It took my control away from me, and sent me up while I was under the primary wires. I yelled to my helper to clear the wood but he couldn't it was wedged to tight, so I told him to shut down the truck. He got the truck shut down and he heard me hit the ground.
> Before I fell I sat down inside my bucket thought for sure Iwas going to get fried. I braced myself as much as I could. The bucket broke and emptied me and the liner I fell 40' and landed in the street. That was the last thing I remembered.
> I woke up day later in hospital. I ended up with 13kv burn on my forehead,arm,and just under armpit, I broke 4 ribs 2 on each side, bruised both lungs, broke my upper left arm,shattered my elbow, broke my pelvic bone 8 places, shattered my tailbone, internial bleeding of my pelvic area, and lots of nerve damage in my left leg.
> Needless to say I'm typing this from my hospital bed right now, hopefuly I'll be able to walk in 7-11 weeks. Lucky with the injurys I have.


 DeAvilaTree, Sorry to hear of your horrendous accident. I greatly admire your terrific attitude. [II] too have been badly hurt in the past. My prayers are with you. God bless you! Bob(Cheeves)[/I]


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## tree md

That's prolly the worst accident I have heard of someone making it and living through. Glad you're still with us. Live long and prosper.


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## DeAvilaTree

I figured I'd give you fellas an update. I'm doing well I sleep thru the night now I wake up between 5-6am and I have to press the nurse call first thing, my body is so stiff and in pain in the morning. It takes about 45mins to an hour for the pills to kick in. I'm able to transfer myself to a wheel chair. And I sat on a toilet for the first time today. Slowly getting better in a week or 2 I'll start learning how to walk again. My left leg is a noodle I can't put any weight on it at all. I have a very difficult time trying to control it. A newspaper reporter interviewed me a couple days ago, so I guess I'l be in the paper sometime next week. When I get home I'll scan it and post it here. The support for my family has been overwhelming, and for the fellas that are here on AS thank you for your advice, and just plain listening. Thank you.
I'll give an update when I have more news to tell.


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## dancan

Thanks for the update ! Glad to hear your making progress and that your family has not been left out because I'm sure they need support as well , just different than your needs at the moment .
Remember that it's the small steps that lead to the bigger milestones so take small steps and don't worry about the big leaps (I hope that this makes sense).


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## DeAvilaTree

Dancan that made perfect sense. I am doing very well getting very strong. But I'm doing it in baby steps. I want to make sure I'm always going forward, in my mind there is no reverse.


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## Bounty Hunter

Thanks for the update Brother, glad yer getting stronger...that's the key to a quick and full recovery. The pain, or the fear of it, is often the limiting factor...it's just hard to work past that threshold sometimes. The bummer is scar tissue, and muscle atrophy...you don't want either of 'em. Scar tissue will need to be regularly "torn" to make sure you have full range of motion (or best, considering the nature of the injuries). Tearing scar tissue don't feel good, but it's mandatory for full recovery. Yer Othopedic doc and physical therapist will help you gauge the nature of that task...then it's up to you to cowboy-up and work through it. 

Muscle atrophy is another inevitable downside to being laid up with major injuries...and it's surprising and really dissapointing just how fast it happens. The only way to combat it working every muscle group you can, with as much effort and resistance as possible and allowable by yer med team. You don't want to re-injure your doctor's fine repairs, but you need to keep as much muscle mass as possible. This involves a lot of stretching (see "scar tissue tearing"), and resistance training. Slow and careful reps, in slow and careful sets, no ballistic movements for sure. This will do WONDERS for your recovery...

I wish ya well Brother, and keep yer friends here on AS posted as you progress...:msp_thumbup:


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## tree md

Here's what I did when I had major surgery about 10 years ago. Granted, I wasn't dropped 40 feet from a bucket but I did have an invasive surgery: I left the hospital in 2 days instead of the 2 weeks they were trying to keep me there for. I had no desire to lay the amongst the dying. I took a job working for a friend toting lumber for 10 dollars an hour 10 days after I got out of the hospital. I worked my ass off because I knew it was use it or loose it. Docs told me I would never have full motion in my shoulder again but I went to work right after the surgery and kept my #### in shape. I can do anything I have always done. Working and breaking your muscles and scar tissue down continuously is going to be key in recovering. Was for me anyway.


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## Sagetown

DeAvilaTree said:


> Dancan that made perfect sense. I am doing very well getting very strong. But I'm doing it in baby steps. I want to make sure I'm always going forward, in my mind there is no reverse.


 
 Amazing what the human body can endure. Glad you're doing so well in such a short time. Blessings to you along with another rep. :msp_biggrin:


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## dancan

DeAvilaTree said:


> I am doing very well getting very strong. But I'm doing it in baby steps. I want to make sure I'm always going forward, in my mind there is no reverse.


 
How are them steps coming along ?


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## DeAvilaTree

An update for evryone. I'm doing very well, I'm now home but of course we had a hurricane, so my guys are scrambling trying to keep. It's nice to be home. At least I can get my office finally cleaned up. I still have nerve damage, and I'm partial weight baring on my left leg, I graduated to a walker this week, in 3 weeks I can learn to use a cane. But I have survived and I am itching to get back to work.


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## sawinredneck

Good luck to you, I hope things keep getting better!


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## Sagetown

DeAvilaTree said:


> An update for evryone. I'm doing very well, I'm now home but of course we had a hurricane, so my guys are scrambling trying to keep. It's nice to be home. At least I can get my office finally cleaned up. I still have nerve damage, and I'm partial weight baring on my left leg, I graduated to a walker this week, in 3 weeks I can learn to use a cane. But I have survived and I am itching to get back to work.


 
Glad to hear you're in good spirits. Don't get over ambitious about work. It will still be there when you are truely able to handle it. I know of a 34 yr old man who hurt his back. His Doc said stay off work, but the 'HE MAN' in him went against the Doc's recommendations and now all four limbs are completely numb. He can't do anything for the rest of his life. So, don't let 'PEER PRESSURE' and 'EGO' knock you out of a good life ahead. Do it right the 1st time, you may not get a second chance. :bang:


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## sawinredneck

I cannot stress the above post enough! It seems I am slowly loosing the use my hands and arms as well. Take it very easy!


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## ducaticorse

Dedham MA?


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## dancan

Thanks for the update , I'm glad to hear that there's progress .
Don't forget to listen to the Doc and don't over do it .


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## cheeves

*Keep getting better!*



DeAvilaTree said:


> An update for evryone. I'm doing very well, I'm now home but of course we had a hurricane, so my guys are scrambling trying to keep. It's nice to be home. At least I can get my office finally cleaned up. I still have nerve damage, and I'm partial weight baring on my left leg, I graduated to a walker this week, in 3 weeks I can learn to use a cane. But I have survived and I am itching to get back to work.


Very glad to hear you"re doing better brother. A little tip. Dump a small bottle of Peroxide in a full tub. Soak in for at least 20 minutes. The second time you do it you will feel the difference. Your body will soak up the oxygen from the h202 which turns to singlet oxygen in the body. Studied it and been doing it for over 20 yrs. O2/O3 Therapy used in Europe and throughout rest of world especially in Socialized countrys where the drug co's don't control their medicine. All the best!


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## DeAvilaTree

An other update for you guys, I'm now walking with one crutch, it feels better to walk rather than sit in a wheelchair. The wheelchair irritates my tailbone. I still have nerve damage in left leg but my leg is getting stronger. I start aquatherapy on the 26th where I practice walking on an underwater treadmill. I walked around my buddys pool and I felt like 100 bucks, so I can't wait for the therapy. Bucket truck is almost repaired and will be back in action by october. Don't worry I won't be in it, I have climbers that are going to be working for me. I'm sitting back and running my company for a change, not killing myself over it. It's not easy sitting there watching my boys work I want to get in there and do it but I know that's not the smartest thing to do for me right now, so I'm being patient. And I also want to thank all of you for your support, there is alot of good advice on this site, I'd be a fool not to take it.


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## Bounty Hunter

That's great news Brother...Glad yer progress has been good and you are positive about the future...that's an important part of any recovery. And it's good to delegate in business, you shouldn't try to do everything...it's often better to be the brains as much as brawn. A good climber is a huge asset, and can make / save lots of money for ya. 

Keep strengthening yourself...the bones and white tissue (tendons, ligaments and cartilage) usually take 7 - 8 weeks to heal, as the blood flow is less than muscle and skin. So now you can get some wieght on in your resistance training, keeping your core and extremities strong and flexable. The additional blood flow from excercise will help the healing process and avoid other problems that come from atrophy and disuse. Aqua therapy is great, resistance without overstress and less chance of re-injury. Getting out walking, even with crutches, is great...I have gone hiking in the mountains on crutches...I didn't care what the Docs said...it was good for the mind, body and soul.

Thanks for the update Brother...Keep 'em coming...:msp_thumbup:


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## dancan

Good update to hear !
I was talking with a friend today , his son (smart and has a good head on his shoulders) was thinking of taking a trade in school , my advice was , " Tell him to pick a trade that he likes , study hard and plan on having tradesmen work for you when your done " .
Take the time to concentrate on building the business while making sure your guys are doing the quality work that you want , nothing wrong with being the boss and delegating tasks .


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## lt1nut

Good God, man! I've had two failed spinal fusions and live in chronic pain but simply can't imagine what you went through. Hardest part for me is depression- keep your spirits up, think positive when it comes to the future. It makes a world of difference! Spinal column injury has a very high incedence/correlation with depression and we all know that it and pain feed off of eachother.

There's been a lot of great advice on here; the most I can do is offer to be a listening ear that understands. Feel free to PM me and I'll shoot you my email addy and cell phone(texting is great!) number if you'd like.

God's speed and God bless you, your family, those that love you and your workers!!!!


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## dancan

How are things coming along ?


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## DeAvilaTree

*My update*

Hi folks figured I would give everyone an update. I'm doing well, less pain everyday. I'm walking with a cane. I usually walk around the house without one. Steping back and running the company has not been easy, I deperatly want to jump in my saddle. But trying to use my head more, letting the younger guys do the work. I still have some pain in my tail bone and nerve pain in my heal. But I can move my toes again and getting more feeling in my leg and other parts of my foot. I get up everyday at 5am head to the shop, get the boys going, go out to the jobs and supervise. I think the customers like talking to me because I can explain everything that we're doing as we're doing it. Thank you everyone for your support, be safe.


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## dancan

Get a good camera and start with job pics , action shots and some videos !


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## deevo

DeAvilaTree said:


> Hi folks figured I would give everyone an update. I'm doing well, less pain everyday. I'm walking with a cane. I usually walk around the house without one. Steping back and running the company has not been easy, I deperatly want to jump in my saddle. But trying to use my head more, letting the younger guys do the work. I still have some pain in my tail bone and nerve pain in my heal. But I can move my toes again and getting more feeling in my leg and other parts of my foot. I get up everyday at 5am head to the shop, get the boys going, go out to the jobs and supervise. I think the customers like talking to me because I can explain everything that we're doing as we're doing it. Thank you everyone for your support, be safe.



Awesome man, glad to hear your back at er' somewhat!


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