Ellington tree-cutter who fell 35 feet remains in critical condition, sister says
By Connie Yan
Journal Inquirer
Published: Thursday, November 6, 2008 9:29 AM EST
ELLINGTON — A local man who owns a tree-cutting business remains in critical condition at Hartford Hospital today after falling at least 35 feet from a tree more than two weeks ago, a family member said.
The man, Leonard Blotniski, 51, of Stein Road is in the intensive care unit at the hospital, his older sister, Lorraine Behling of Ellington, said this week.
The accident occurred on Oct. 20 when Blotniski, who owns the Connecticut Valley Tree Expert Co. of Ellington, was trimming the branches of a tree on Mountain Street in preparation for cutting it down, his sister said.
Just before he fell he was “in the process of repositioning himself in the tree, and in order to do that he had to disengage his safety gear to move up,” Behling said. He fell at least 35 feet, landing on his left side on top of a log, she said.
Blotniski employs one other person in his business who was working on the ground at the time of the accident, Behling said.
A neighbor who heard a crash and yelling placed an emergency call to Tolland County Mutual Aid at 9:44 a.m., according to dispatchers.
Blotniski was taken by Life Star helicopter to Hartford Hospital, where doctors later operated on his crushed spleen, Behling said.
His other injuries included six broken ribs, a fractured hip, two fractured vertebrae, and a crushed elbow, which was operated on during the second day of his hospitalization, Behling said.
Blotniski is currently experiencing breathing complications and has pneumonia, she said. The “most critical part is his lung — it’s partially collapsed,” she said.
Blotniski, who is on a respirator, is being sedated and can’t speak but can occasionally open his eyes, Behling said.
He is also suffering from a blood infection and has acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, from being in the hospital, his sister said.
Blotniski is a trained arborist with a degree in horticulture from the University of Connecticut, Behling said. This is his first major accident in his 30-plus years of being in the tree-cutting business, Behling said. He was hospitalized twice for previous accidents more than 10 years ago, she said.
Because of his condition, Blotniski’s tree-cutting business is currently closed. Calls made to the business are being referred to Vernon Tree Service, a company Blotniski has known for years, Behling said.
Due to the halt in income, Behling, who manages all of Blotniski’s bookkeeping, is currently putting stops on insurance and maintenance fees the company accrues.
“I’m trying to cut back on everything or just leaving the minimal on it because there’s no income coming in to pay his bills” Behling said.
Without estimates of Blotniski’s recovery time, Behling is prepared for the worst, saying her brother “may lose everything, I don’t know, we’ll just see how things go … They tell me he’s going to be in the hospital for quite a while.”
Blotniski is the divorced father of two children, Jennifer, 20, and Shawn, 15. Behling said the family is “doing OK, but it’s hard to go in there and see him.”
It’s toughest on their mother, Stella, who is 85, she said.
