The fall

[Ozz]

I was reclined back in my chair watching Tv, yawning and stretching my arms out, when the pain in my right shoulder brought me back to the accident.
It was a year and a half ago. I had trouble sleeping for month’s after, and even in quiet moments, I would be reliving the few seconds of terror, I experienced that afternoon.
I have been a commercial HVAC service technician for around 40 years, inherently a dangerous job. Working with live line voltage wiring, removing and installing compressors, entire units ,95% on rooftops. Countless opportunities to encounter the grim reaper.
When training young men for the job, I stress safety first. I always use ropes to hoist and send down tools and materials for rooftop work, nothing in our hands when climbing, or descending ladders, Always securing the ladders, always the best, and heaviest duty ladders I can buy. Safety first.
My back is in perfect shape, unusual for a person with my job, and the many years I have worked. If a compressor is too heavy, or bulky, I use a sign truck. Many try carrying them up the ladders.

Sue and I were cleaning large rooftop heating and cooling units at The Corner Café in Liberty, Missouri, a fairly new building with 4 large units and a few ice machine, and refrigeration coils. We clean them with chemicals and a water hose. All went well until we were wrapping up the job, I sent down a few heavy coils of hose while Sue was finishing the last unit on the roof.
I started down the steel ladder attached to the building, I turned to face the ladder and grabbed the top of the Galvanized angle iron at the top of the ladder, my left hand came up empty. I started falling back, my body turned, as my right hand had a grip for a moment, when I was falling, my shoulder, elbow, knees were hitting the steel rungs, I was grabbing at the ladder trying to save myself. I was successful in that I landed on my feet, hard. I pulled my arm at my shoulder somehow, it was numb, I was bleeding everywhere, but I didn’t hit my head, that was my fear. I sat down on the concrete.
Sue was still on the roof, out of sight and sound of my folly. I called her and told her to come down, on our Nextel push to talk system. She said she wasn’t quite done, I told her we had to go, so stop now. I did not want to scare her, I wanted her to come down the dangerous ladder with concentration on that task, not in a panic because of my fall.
After she was down, I told her about the ordeal, she tended to my wounds, and was a good nurse. I went to the V.A. got x-rays and they gave me some physical therapy over a few weeks.
It just takes a second of inattention. Stay safe out there.

[LonnieB]

WOW Ozz,

As I read your story, distant and semi forgotten memories suddenly filled my mind. I recalled a journey I took when I was 19 years old, a very short journey that seemed to take an eternity. It was from the weigh hopper level of a feed mixing mill, to the concrete floor 52 feet below, with numerous life threatening (in my case, life saveing) obstacles along the way. The last 20 feet of the journey was the scariest, as there seemed to be nothing between me and the concrete, and I was in a horisontal position with my head about 2 feet lower than the rest of my body. My legs hit a guardrail which caused me to flip over landing feet first, with my legs crossed.

I looked around and decided I didn't die, because Heaven surely has better scenery than the bottom of a feedmill. I tried to breathe and couldn't, tried to stand and couldn't, and tried to yell for help but couldn't, so I crawled up the 10 feet of steps into the vacant mill office, layed on the cool tile floor, pulled my boots off, and everything went black.

At the hospital, I was x-rayed from head to toe, and left on a table to await the doctor. When he arrived, he prodded around on me a bit, turned me over and started prodding around some more. Fearing a broken back, or worse, I asked him what he was doing. His reply, "Young man, I'm checking for wings, it's the only way you could have fallen that far, and not broke a single bone".

I was extremely sore for a couple of weeks, but I was still alive, and I now had a whole different perspective on life.

Ozz, I know exactly what you feel.

[Ozz]

Lonnie, you were indeed fortunate. You beat the odds on your fall, I'm glad you made it through that one in a million accident.
Ozz

[firetrucker]

As a firefighter for 25 years, I've seen my share of falls from all types of construction, with no deaths, fortunately. What concerns me the most, though, especially as I "mature", is the damage from ground-level falls. As youth, experience, training, strength, and flexibility slowly desert us, those falls cause more and more damage. I'm gonna start wearing body armor pretty soon.

Bob

[Dustytuu]

Several years ago.

Don was up on a ladder about 40 feet up in the air on top of ladder hanging from a beam. Supposed to be cutting some wires. Guy down below shut off the switch and Don went to cut the wires. And the wires were on the emergency system and were hot 277 volts! Needless to say Don got one big shock. Guy below said he was hanging by one arm from the steel beam. Somehow he got loose from the wires. Climbed down slowly. Had burns on his hands. Very lucky man!

Then while we were at the Montana thing in Branson. We went to see Stiles and his wife. It was raining that day. I went to step onto the shelter on their site and both feet slide out from under me and I went right under their picnic table. Hope no one saw that!! We went in to see them and I couldn't sit down because all my backside was wet.

[Hemlockusa]

Things happen, who knows for what reason. I think there are a lot of stories to tell like OZZ/LonnieB/Firetrucker/Dustytuu.
At one time or another each and everyone of us will experience something that might come close to the above experience's. I AM SURE GLAD THAT GUARDIAN ANGELS DON'T TAKE COFFEE BREAKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BRANSON IS GOING TO BE GREAT IN 2008.
Later John

[LonnieB]

I'll say AMEN to that John.