DeerWhisperer
Well-Known Member
I just wanted to remind everyone to please be careful out there. I had a pretty scary incident two weeks ago. I was replacing all the straps on my ladder stands in anticipation of the upcoming Muzzleloader/Gun Season and unfortunately, I took a pretty significant fall. I had already replaced the middle strap that secures the middle brace to the tree. I went to replace the top strap that secures the top of the stand to the tree. I had the new strap laying in the seat ready to replace. When I took the existing strap off and reached to get the new strap, the stand sprung off the tree and since I was on an incline, it immediately came lose and came went to the ground. This was a 15ft ladder stand. As the stand was falling, I jumped away from it to avoid landing on it. Upon landing, I was knocked out. I think I was only out for a minute or so. When I came to, I had a pretty nasty cut on my forehead and bit a considerable chunk out of my tongue. The first thing I did was immediately try to move my arms and legs and by the grace of God I had movement in all my extremities. I tried standing but the pain in my lower back was bad, it took my breath, and I could not walk due to the pain.
I was by myself and had no cell phone( No cell coverage, left phone at truck) My wife knew where I was at but would not be looking for me for several hours. I was able to crawl back to my 4-wheeler and was able to get back to my truck and cell phone, I was able to call my wife for help I was only about 15 minutes from our house. She arrived and took one look at me, (apparently my face was covered in blood) and called the ambulance.
After an ER visit and overnight stay at the hospital, it was determined that I had no broken bones. Apparently, I landed upright, and this prevented any major damage to my limbs, but it also compressed all the discs in my back. So, it has been about 2 1/2 weeks now, I am now off my walker and with the help of physical therapy, I am almost back to 100%.
I say all of this, life is short, be careful out there doing what we love. I am truly blessed and fortunate that I suffered no real injuries.
Please be careful and practice caution when hunting or working on stands. Things can happen in the blink of an eye.
I was by myself and had no cell phone( No cell coverage, left phone at truck) My wife knew where I was at but would not be looking for me for several hours. I was able to crawl back to my 4-wheeler and was able to get back to my truck and cell phone, I was able to call my wife for help I was only about 15 minutes from our house. She arrived and took one look at me, (apparently my face was covered in blood) and called the ambulance.
After an ER visit and overnight stay at the hospital, it was determined that I had no broken bones. Apparently, I landed upright, and this prevented any major damage to my limbs, but it also compressed all the discs in my back. So, it has been about 2 1/2 weeks now, I am now off my walker and with the help of physical therapy, I am almost back to 100%.
I say all of this, life is short, be careful out there doing what we love. I am truly blessed and fortunate that I suffered no real injuries.
Please be careful and practice caution when hunting or working on stands. Things can happen in the blink of an eye.
