Posted on 03/02/2018 12:32:37 PM PST by Hulka
This vanity post describes my fascinating journey towards becoming a semi-cripple for the rest of my life.
A week ago last Saturday I was replacing smoke detector batteries in my home and fell off a ladder
I’ve been to war, flew fighters and was a Texas police officer and I make it through relatively uninjured, but falling off a ladder does me in.
Yup. That simple and that silly.
And all my fault.
There is a long recovery ahead, with full recovery not really possible.
I may need a walker, may need a cane for the rest of my life.
When I grow up, I want to be like you. LOL.
Good luck and God Bless.
I’m so sorry this happened to you, but thankful you’re doing as well as possible. Prayers for your recovery.
You’re so right about not being on a ladder while home alone. I also have a rule not to leave the kitchen while cooking, as I know someone who caught their house on fire after answering the door and getting distracted.
I’m 57 and get up on the roof - but I rigged up a cable along the roof line and wear a harness. Of course still the ladder to deal with. And of course after almost falling off twice on the split shake roof, I put the cable up.
Now it is asphalt, and I’ve never slipped!
My catch is if I’m up on the roof I don’t want to disturb the family, so I wait until they aren’t home. But in the back of my mind think that somebody should be home.
I guess Hulka’s story is a good reminder - and do it while they are home.
I’m guessing we all have had some pretty close calls in life. And of course all the close calls that you never know about.
Rarely home alone. Not stupid, Never been intoxicated, slight high blood pressure, Rarely get mad, except at liberals.
Some good advice.
In reality, My job gets me on jobsites frequently and I’m comfortable at heights as well as know my limitations. A 6:12 pitch roof isn’t one of them.
If the wind was half what it is now, I’d probably pop up there. As it is, I watched it destroy my neighbors shed to day and I’m simply not screwing with it.
You have the writing skills to become a successful author. Spellbinding account of your experience.
God bless and stay strong.
Not to make light of any pain you may be in, but did you check to make sure your ladder had the requisite number of warning labels and safety stickers on it prior to your use? Blaming it on someone else is the new American way.
Wow. . .your mom, the original Iron Man.
I do have that fighter attitude and plan to use it forever. Will be tough but I will lean toward with high spirits.
Can’t let anyone, or the Lord, down.
Ya! Good one.
Having a person stabilize the ladder is a hallmark of most ladder safety training.
Some homes now, especially above a certain pitch are installing harness clips. That’s a great idea if you’re going to be up there for a while. In my case, it would be ten times longer on the roof to hook up the harness and get the tether lengths correct than the actual repair will take. Should be under a minute. Plus it’s a brand new roof, so traction will be great. On my old roof, traction was far better in boots than tennis shoes.
Interesting I changed all the smoke detectors in my house a couple weekends ago, on a ladder, and home alone. But no fall. Best of luck with your recovery.
And since you're going to be stuck with a cane, you might be interested in Brazos Walking Sticks ... hand crafted right here in Texas. They can even personalize them if you want ... name, military branch, etc.
Praying for you. Hold back some pain pills for physical therapy. (But make your wife drive while you are on them.) Say goodbye to stick shifts, but whichever leg it is, you can probably adapt as needed with an automatic.
Weird how God works. Friend of mine fell off his roof and broke his back. Full set of scans showed a previously undetected brain tumor that doctors said would have taken him home within a year.
He says that the Holy Spirit pushed him off the roof!
I seem to thrive when facing adversity. I lean into it and push hard, like we do.
[The Lord is in the driver seat and with prayers sent my way by friends and their prayer groups, I’ll be okay.]
FATHER GOD,
You are the GOD OF MIRACLES. Nothing is impossible for You!
May the HOLY SPIRIT surge through Hulka, healing his tibia, fibia, nerves, and his ankle. We ask for and believe in a creative miracle - total restoration.
Thank You for Your Son, JESUS CHRIST, Who won the Victory! By His stripes we were healed.
In JESUS’ Name we pray. Amen!
Good luck with your recovery. So sorry to hear about your accident. It seems like it’s always the things you’d done a thousand times before that trip you up.
It could have been a lot worse. My daughter’s “Italian Dad” (the Dad of the family in Italy that hosted my daughter for a half year during high school) was a plumber. He was doing some simple work in the garage for a neighbor and fell of the ladder. Dead. Apparently hit his head on the concrete when he landed. My daughter was in Serbia on travel when this happened (about four years after she had stayed with them) and was able to attend his funeral in Italy. It was very sad.
Ladders are nothing to fool with even when you are a pro with them.
When I read your line “When I was wheeled into the ER there were at least a dozen people waiting to receive me.” I misread it. I thought you were “wheeled into FR.” I thought “Wow, how cool is that! The FreeRepublic room where we an all sit around and give you a hard time.” Wouldn’t that be a grand old time? Real live face-to-face ribbing and roasting instead of virtual. The “FR Room” should be in Fresno.
Judge Judy’s two words of advice for older folks, “Don’t fall.”
Safety at home. Home accidents will kill you faster than a gunfight.
Look at the upside, you can demand senior discounts and no one will question you.
Hang in there.
Thanks. I am getting sleepy-eyed. Checking out for now.
We take our good health for granted. I was “almost” there myself. I will never get on a ladder again.
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