My terrible, horrible, miserable, not so very good day.

[Diggin It]

Let me preface by saying it could have been MUCH worse in many ways.

Working on the shed, standing on a 6 foot step ladder, reaching up between rafters and purlins to remove screws in a metal roof panel that needed to be moved to another area ...... somehow the ladder shifted as I was climbing down. I ended up on the ground in a heap with legs and arms not pointed in the right direction. Taking stock briefly to see what all would move and finding out all the joints were somehow magically OK, I noticed the gaping gash between my fingers of my left hand, obviously from the sheet metal.


"I ain't fixin' that myself, I gotta get somewhere quick!!!!!"

Made arrangements to get to the clinic, they sent me on to the local hospital who stabilized and cleaned it, then told me I needed a hand surgeon due to a nicked tendon. Then they told me there isn't one locally and the closest one was four hours away. Got there, got patched up and got back home 10 hours later, about 13-14 hours after it happened.

This morning so far, the other various bumps and bruises are beginning to make themselves known. Nothing broken or even sprained, but a few things aching a lot. Not sure how long the hand will be wrapped and out of commission, or if there will be long lasting loss of finger function.

If it had been the right hand .....

If I had broken something and couldn't get to my phone 20 feet away ....

If that metal had caught me somewhere else, like the neck ......

 

[oosik]

You WERE fortunate. Coming down off a ladder is not a controlled situation. Spring is my "accident prone" time of year. 38 years out here and you would think I could learn. The ground is still frozen. The exposed softballs sizes rocks have broken loose from the frozen ground. Accidentally step on one - it spins - I am down. Nothing ever broken but certainly a lot of sore spots and shoulders/hips.

I try VERY HARD to be most careful. It's just me out here - and my brown puppy.

 

[Diggin It]

You WERE fortunate.

EXTREMELY.

I keep telling myself this is why I don't do lotteries or sweepstakes. I need every bit of luck and I can't afford to squander any.

 

[orezok]

A similar thing happened to me last week as I was helping a neighbor prepare an area in his yard for his wedding reception. We installed ten 10’ tall poles to string 325’ of lights to the reception area for about 80 guests. I was up on the ladder looping the light string over the top of the poles when one side of the ladder started to sink in the soft sand. Now the thing wrong with this picture is that I’m 72 and he is 29. What was I thinking. I was able to get down about 2 steps before the ladder totally kicked out and down I went. Fortunately I fell from only 2’ but it was uncontrolled and I landed on my butt.

Fortunately nothing broke or damaged, but at 72, any fall can be dangerous.

 

[ray66v]

The statistics say, 6 foot ladders cause a lot of injuries. 500,000 falls annually, 97% of those are at home.

I once broke my knee falling from one, partially because the person I had hired to hold the ladder, wasn't.

My friends son broke his leg, and his ankle so badly falling from one at home, they offered amputation as the easier option for recovery.

It took many surgeries, and more than 2 years, most of that on his back, in serious pain to get him walking again, (the ankle is fused, there was no hope in saving it).

They needed to stretch his leg because the break resulted in about and inch and a half of bone loss lengthwise So, as it healed, the halo device attached to the leg was extended, breaking the bone again, over and over.

We don't take the time to consider safety, and injury before using a step ladder, because most of us use them frequently, and nothing bad ever happens. But we really should.

Glad your incident was not any worse, than it was.

 

[Bird]

I noticed the gaping gash between my fingers of my left hand, obviously from the sheet metal.

That hurts just thinking about it. Hope the repair is a good one.

 

[bullbreaker]

EXTREMELY.

I keep telling myself this is why I don't do lotteries or sweepstakes. I need every bit of luck and I can't afford to squander any.

Good to hear your doin better . Yes keep that cut clean . Sure could have been worse for sure . Wish Ya speedy , healthy recovery "get well soon" ......................................

 

[Deere Dude]

Walking a plank between a 7' and 8' ladder seemed very easy once you go back and forth a couple hundred times. I thought to myself this plank walking is a cinch. Just then my foot hooked the 6' ladder I used to climb to the plank. I lost my balance and remember thinking I will just land in a certain direction. As soon as I was committed to a certain direction the 6' ladder fell that way. I belly flopped on that ladder from about 4' up and skinned one leg down to the meat. I was alone and on concrete so it could have been a real mess if I would have hit the head on concrete.

What I do mostly is to think I am on the bottom step when actually I am on the second step. Don't know how many times I bit for that one.

 

[3930dave]

Heal up well DI.

Once gravity re-asserts itself, it's a crapshoot from there. Not a fun day for you, obviously, but Lady Luck just fired a Warning Shot across your bow with that event. Landing differently, or on some tool or other item.....

Rgds, D.

 

[Diggin It]

What I do mostly is to think I am on the bottom step when actually I am on the second step. Don't know how many times I bit for that one.

Yeah, and why does that last six inches hurt so much?