Those that know me well understand my tendency to be overly safe when working around vehicles, operating heavy equipment, and anything construction related. I honestly don’t believe in such a thing as “overly safe”, as one can never be too safe from harm. in my opinion.
Case in point, while working on putting the sheetmetal roof on my new CNC building my father fell from the roof ladder some odd ~8 feet or so onto the concrete slab directly on his lower back and in the rebound hit his head as well. The ladder footing gave way and kicked out from underneath his feet while getting down off the roof and while we took precautions to secure the ladder to the building via rope, the sheer force of his weight and movement ripped the securing line from the building. The upper layer of gravel that the ladder was embedded into broke free causing the ladder to slide right out from him like he was standing on wet ice.
The pain that one feels inside watching a family member scream at the hospital in agony due to fracture vertebrae and shards of bone poking the spinal cord because they failed to take more precaution hurts harder than you can imagine. My father is a ~275lb 6’6" redneck of rednecks and up until today I have never seen him burst into tears due to pain.
Take this as a kind reminder to think things trough before getting under a car on stands, or using a chain saw with a dull chain, or any number of odd jobs that could induce serious injury. If you find yourself in a precarious position because of poor actions of someone else, take the time to step back and think about what could happen if shit hits the fan. Gear up on the bikes, suit up on the tracks. Hell I even stretch before getting into serious physical labor type work on cars(IE pulling and engine or rusty suspension work) because even a torn muscle can put you out for a couple weeks.
Just be safe. Yes shit can happen anytime to anyone but if you think there is something quite obvious that you could do safer just do it.
(My father is messed up pretty bad right now for his age of 56, and is going to be in pain and PT for quite a long time now)
Cannot be stressed enough. I cringe at people using tiny jacks to jack up more than one wheel on a car, stupid cheezy jack stands to barely get the car high enough to get under, working in situations with little/no light, goes on and on. And the one that most of us are guilty of-
Minimal use of safety glasses. Put them on guys. I’m just as guilty as you fuckers.
And Adam, I know exactly how you feel. Ask the few members on here that I’ve shared my recent personal life with.
Adam I am truly sorry for your pops, you and the family. Like you said its one thing when you are on the hospital bed in pain, its an absolute nightmare to see your loved ones laying there. My father worked construction for 30+ years and has taken some spills like that and it hurts me worse than it hurts him to see that happen.
I’m unsure if you got my texts yesterday, but again I am very sorry to hear this man. I wish him the best for a speedy recovery, and let me know if there’s any way I could help.
Hopefully your dad is not as stubborn as mine adam and stick to rest/PT till he’s ready to get back in the full swing of things. My dad is ridiculously stubborn and doesn’t know how to take it easy when he gets hurt.
Dude I’m sorry to hear this. That REALLY sucks to have happen, even worse that you had to watch it on your own property. Hopefully he recovers quickly and fully. Be careful up there bro.