Rollover with Injury.

[OffBalance]

Grandpa left the hospital on Sunday and moved to a rehab center. The admissions process was lengthy with a billion forms and signatures and they asked ridiculous questions like "is your goal at the end of your stay here to be able to live alone with someone cooking for you?" Remember that just over a week ago my Grandpa lived alone, drove 150 miles to my house, and operated heavy equipment on a regular basis.

I think he answered something like, "No, my goal is to be able to drive, operate bulldozers, tractors and my ATV." I'm not exactly sure how I was able to keep from laughing out loud, but my uncle was able to keep a perfectly straight face. Judging by the nurses reactions and appearences, I think that none of them had ever considered bulldozer operation before. It took them a while before they figured out what box to check on their survey form.

I have attached a photo of Grandpa that I took just before the accident.

 

[SkyPup]

What a bummer, but I am sure a man like that will NOT take it lying down, he'll be up and at 'em before you know it.

God speed his recovery.

 

[MarkV]

So glad that Grandpa is doing as well as he is considering his age and what could have been. His photo really took me back, in every memory I have of my Grandpa he was dressed in a very similar outfit. Mine passed away long ago of a heart attack while on his beloved Oliver tractor. I am sure that is what he would have wanted.

After several scares when shifting to neutral or changing ranges with HST on a slope it is a rule here to drop the loader and implements whenever the range lever is touched. My wife went free wheeling down a hill one time and I am not sure if she or I ended up with more grey hair as a result.

Glad to hear your tractor survived without major damage even though that was a secondary concern.

MarkV

 

[RedRocker]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Fireman_dcb]

O/B,

VERY glad to hear that your Gramps is expected to come out of this OK. Sounds like he'll have lots of females around to help him out.

 

[tjkadar]

Grandpa sounds like a heck of a man. At 98, he is doing more then most teenagers of today. I don't doubt for a second that he'll back in his bulldozer ASAP. Let Grandpa know that everyone at TBN is wishing him a speedy and complete recovery.

 

[tillerkiller]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( "is your goal at the end of your stay here to be able to live alone with someone cooking for you?" )</font>

My 80 year old Grandma went through the same rehab and they almost broke her will with "you can't get out of the bed unless we are here so we are going to put these rails up so you won't fall out of bed"

and then:
"the doctor (who had not seen her yet) has not OK'd you to walk on your own so WE WILL NOT LET YOU GET OUT OF BED UNTIL THE DOCTOR SEES YOU", even though she was walking on her own with a walker when she got there.

and then:


"you can't use the bathroom unless we are here to help you"

You get the idea here, don't let them keep him in bed until he gets in worse shape than he is now.


I am paraphrasing a whole lot here, when Grandma said "I'm out of here, these people are a bunch of yay-hoos who are trying to make me old" then the rehab place understood that she meant business.

She lived on her own after she got out of there too.

Good luck!

 

[oliver28472]

Hope your Grandfather continues to recover. He looks and sounds like a tough one to hold down. As you know, he will be much better when he can get back in the saddle.

 

[OffBalance]

Tomorrow Grandpa leaves the rehab center for home (200 acres in Oregon). He will be stuck in the house for a couple months while the bone continues to heal and bond to the titanium plate. He won't be able to operate machinery for a while, and one of us will have to stay with him to go up and down the stairs, but I'm sure he will be at it soon. After all, he has some roads that need to be cleared with the Cat D-6, the old D-7 needs some work on the pony engine, the roads need to be mowed with the Kubota and brush hog, and the yard needs to be mowed with the little JD mower.

One little story I forgot earlier - as part of the survey when he entered the rehab center, they asked Grandpa when he retired. He chuckled and said "Last Saturday." They wrote that down in his paperwork...

 

[Jim57]

I don't think I have had the pleasure to meet you at TBN or chat with you but, My Friend, I am glad your Grandpa is doing ok. I and my family with his recovery with God's Speed. May God be with you and yours. I know this takes a toll on everyone.

By the way, don't over protect him... the freedom of doing what he wants when he wants has kept your Grandpa Young. I know this because my uncles and aunts talked my grandpa into selling his 132 acres in Virginia when a cow fell on him while he was milking her. They forced him to sell out. This has cause my grandpa to mostly give up and he's not the same grandpa as before. In my opinion... I think that not having this land with his cattle, chickens and tractor is killing him in a slow painful silent way. I have talked him into getting a compact tractor and farming the four acres he has now in Virginia... This seemed to have lifted his spirits and made a really nice garden this year. I just told him that think of it as a smaller version of the 132 acres. He is 93 and feels like he must do this to keep face in the community. You would be surprised how the "OLD SCHOOL" teaches us new younger generations the real important parts of life.

Again God's Speedy Recovery to your Grandpa and all of you. Stay young and enjoy life. It's too short to be miserable.

Jim