<div class="bbWrapper"><a href="https://tractorbynet.com/forums/members/25476/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="25476" data-username="@RandyT">@RandyT</a> Sorry to hear about your friend. <br />
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Preface to the following story... I grew up on a large farm and we used wood to heat both the house and shop. My current shop also has wood heat, although I did plumb it for in-floor heat. I'm tempted to buy a boiler for it this fall so I don't have to cut firewood.<br />
The wife and I built our dream home on 22 acres of wooded land overlooking a medium-sized river. In the summer of 2020, I was cutting some small trees down (<6" dia) for a better river view from our deck. I had full safety gear on (helmet, chaps & boots). I had just cut a small 5"-ish inch tree down and was in the process of standing up when I got hit with a tremendous force and driven to the ground. Turns out that a tree that I wasn't even working on broke off about halfway up, hit me in the back of the head, and went down my back. It was a dead oak that was 12"-14" at the base. The wife watched it happen from the deck but, of course, couldn't do anything about it. Two of my three kids, along with my son-in-law, were there. The EMTs responded very quickly and were there within 10 minutes, but they had a hard time getting me out of the woods because of the steep hill up to our house. They loaded me in the ambulance and drove me a 1/8 of a mile down the road to a clearing where the helicopter was waiting, which then flew me to the nearest trauma center. I had three broken ribs where they attach to one's spine, a collapsed left lung, a broken shoulder blade, a crushed T-12 in my back, and a "mild" traumatic brain injury. When they were hauling me up the hill I could feel something moving around in my chest, which, of course, was my lung. It was a terrible feeling.<br />
I spent a week in the hospital and then three months in a back brace, and 6 weeks in a neck brace. I am still not over my brain injury and probably never will be. I had already had three lower back surgeries before this accident, so this did not help. I also have a congenital issue with my neck where I have absolutely no room for my spinal cord, which limits my head movement. I came within a whisker of being paralyzed. I also have "hidden" injuries that are starting to show, like a knee issue that needs fixing now. <br />
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Sorry for the long-winded post, but wanted to share how quickly things can go sideways in the woods. I also want to point out that without my Stihl helmet, I would be dead. It is as blunt as that. Without that piece of safety gear, I would not be here.<br />
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Please be safe out there.</div>
