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This is an artical from one our local newspapers
Freeport mayor itching to return
By Terry Hagerty
The Facts
Published January 29, 2007
The life-sized cardboard cutout of John Wayne and a large Superman balloon in his hospital room reflect the hardy spirit of Freeport Mayor Jim Phillips as he continues his recovery from a tractor accident on Nov. 22.
“I know when I’m going home — a week from today,” Phillips cheerily told a friend who called his room Wednesday at Brazosport Regional Health System. “I told my doctor I wanted to shoot for being out of here by Feb. 1, and he agreed.”
After spending about a month at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston followed by almost a month at the Lake Jackson hospital, including two weeks of intensive physical therapy, Phillips said he’s ready “to get back to city work,” although he will be using a walker to get around.
The accident
Phillips suffered broken vertebrae and ribs Nov. 22 when his tractor stalled, then unexpectedly started up and knocked him to the ground, running over him twice.
“I was cutting hay on Port Freeport property,” recalled Phillips, who was working by himself in a field south of 11th Street, where highways 288 and 36 meet
“The tractor was running at about 2,200 rpm and just died,” Phillips recalled. “The engine didn’t choke down before it died, which I was thinking was real unusual. I reached into the floorboard to tap the solenoid with a screwdriver and the tractor started up in gear and just took off.”
Phillips said he was knocked to the ground and stunned by the tractor’s wheels. The tractor then circled by itself and hit him again.
“I could hear the tractor coming around the second time,” Phillips said. “I never lost consciousness, I was just stunned and immobilized. The mower’s cutter bar went between my knees and thighs on the second pass, but luckily the bar wasn’t rotating. I could hear my vertebrae breaking. I sucked up what little energy I could and rolled myself a full body turn, so the tractor missed on the third pass and then died out after about 30 minutes.”
Phillips said he tried to signal passing motorists from his prone position in the field.
“I took my handkerchief, got some nearby milkweed and wrapped it up and waved it as a signal,” Phillips said. “I had a couple of people driving the 288 Loop wave back at me.” No one realized Phillips’ predicament.
About an hour later, Phillips’ son, Wes Phillips, found him in the field, and he was flown by medical helicopter to Hermann Hospital.
Besides the broken vertebrae and ribs, Phillips said he had one collapsed lung and doctors found a blood clot in the other.
Freeport mayor itching to return
By Terry Hagerty
The Facts
Published January 29, 2007
The life-sized cardboard cutout of John Wayne and a large Superman balloon in his hospital room reflect the hardy spirit of Freeport Mayor Jim Phillips as he continues his recovery from a tractor accident on Nov. 22.
“I know when I’m going home — a week from today,” Phillips cheerily told a friend who called his room Wednesday at Brazosport Regional Health System. “I told my doctor I wanted to shoot for being out of here by Feb. 1, and he agreed.”
After spending about a month at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston followed by almost a month at the Lake Jackson hospital, including two weeks of intensive physical therapy, Phillips said he’s ready “to get back to city work,” although he will be using a walker to get around.
The accident
Phillips suffered broken vertebrae and ribs Nov. 22 when his tractor stalled, then unexpectedly started up and knocked him to the ground, running over him twice.
“I was cutting hay on Port Freeport property,” recalled Phillips, who was working by himself in a field south of 11th Street, where highways 288 and 36 meet
“The tractor was running at about 2,200 rpm and just died,” Phillips recalled. “The engine didn’t choke down before it died, which I was thinking was real unusual. I reached into the floorboard to tap the solenoid with a screwdriver and the tractor started up in gear and just took off.”
Phillips said he was knocked to the ground and stunned by the tractor’s wheels. The tractor then circled by itself and hit him again.
“I could hear the tractor coming around the second time,” Phillips said. “I never lost consciousness, I was just stunned and immobilized. The mower’s cutter bar went between my knees and thighs on the second pass, but luckily the bar wasn’t rotating. I could hear my vertebrae breaking. I sucked up what little energy I could and rolled myself a full body turn, so the tractor missed on the third pass and then died out after about 30 minutes.”
Phillips said he tried to signal passing motorists from his prone position in the field.
“I took my handkerchief, got some nearby milkweed and wrapped it up and waved it as a signal,” Phillips said. “I had a couple of people driving the 288 Loop wave back at me.” No one realized Phillips’ predicament.
About an hour later, Phillips’ son, Wes Phillips, found him in the field, and he was flown by medical helicopter to Hermann Hospital.
Besides the broken vertebrae and ribs, Phillips said he had one collapsed lung and doctors found a blood clot in the other.
