Help I've fallen and I can't get up

[tutone84]

My rut vacation started on the morning of November 3rd, 9 days of uninterrupted bowhunting, some of it alone, and some of it would be with my brother. We love this time of year, not just because our chances of filling our tags go up, it’s more so that we get to spend time together and it’s one of those things that keeps us close as our working schedules are opposite of each other. Saturday morning at 4:30 am I’m walking to my tree on public land about a mile back in the marsh. I left early because I needed the extra time to set up before light and I also don’t like to hurry, that’s when mistakes happen. By some miracle at 6:15 am I find my tree that I had picked out the weekend before and begin unpacking the what seemed like 50 lbs. from my back (I was doing an all-day sit). The tree I picked out had only one trunk at the base but at 18 or so feet split into double trucks with some heavy-duty limbs coming out of each trunk. Trees like this make me feel safer as there’s always something to hold on to.
Its 7:00 am, the sky is starting to show signs of daylight, I’m all set up and ready to go so I text my brother to let him know I’m safe and give him my coordinates in case something were to happen. For as long as I can remember, this is how every hunt plays out, we text each other our locations, how things are going throughout the hunt, when we get down from our stands and when we get back to our vehicles.
It wasn’t until 9:30 am before I saw my first deer, at first, I thought it was a doe coming thru but soon realized It was a small buck making his way to the small knoll I was hunting on. The deer got to within 10 yards before he finally made his way to bed, he didn’t have a clue I was there which gave me confidence that I picked the right tree. The second animal to come thru was a very large coyote, I was taking care of business (taking a pee in a bottle) when he came on the knoll so my opportunity to put an arrow in him was short lived (although I did get some footage on my cell phone). By 10:30 things had slowed down a bit as my brother and I were texting back and forth, it was a long morning because my reception out there was horrible so the texts were few are far between.

How does a person go about telling a story of stupidity and irresponsibility involving themselves and affecting so many others around them? Maybe I’m doing this as a way of apologizing to those people, maybe it will help me heal and I think of it as some sort of therapy, maybe I’m bored out of my mind and need to keep myself occupied. Whatever the reason, I feel I need to get this out of the way so I can move on.

At 1:30 pm my stand somehow lets loose from its hook and I begin my descent approx. 20 ft to the ground, I was wide awake, coherent and can remember almost every detail however quickly it happened. When I hit the ground, I remember being in pain but not excruciating pain, I could move everything so I remember being relieved about that. I remember thinking, I can’t believe I just fell, I was shocked, embarrassed like, how am I going to explain this one. When I finally opened my eyes, I could see some of the things I had in my hunting jacket were strewn about all around me, I knew I would need my phone so that’s the first thing I started to look for, the first thing I saw was my vape stick…and it was still working!! What a relief I felt as at that moment in time, I needed it. Shortly after that I found my phone under my stand, shortly after that the pain set in and after that the nausea. Then I just became so tired, I just wanted to go to sleep but knew I had to text my brother to let him know I fell. I remember having to move the phone around to get the text to go thru. I could hear texts coming back but didn’t have the energy to look at them. When he called, I put the phone to my ear and for the short time we were connected I gave him all the info I could think of and he was on his way while I laid there still trying to figure out what the just happened. As my mind was slowing down, I remember thinking how peaceful everything was at the time, my ears were in tune with every noise, I could hear the mice running from log to log, I could hear the crows, the blue jays, every animal within earshot. And the pain became worse.
With the last conversation I remember having with my brother, we had decided, with my help, to drag me out of the marsh, I had mentioned to my brother to bring me something for the pain if he could find anything. It would take him about 1 and a half hours to reach me. In the meantime, I tried to diagnose where the majority of my pain was coming from. I didn’t take long to realize my left leg was a mess. I couldn’t move it on its own accord and with the assistance of my hand I could feel that the bones in there weren’t attached anymore as it felt like the only thing keeping my foot on my leg at all was my boot. And the pain kept getting worse. By the time they showed up (my brother, my brother in law and my nieces’ boyfriend), I was just a big pile of flesh uncontrollably shaking from the pain and the chill that had overcome me. The first thing we did was to try and get me on my feet, well on the one foot that still worked anyways, they each stood on a side and I grabbed a shoulder, I think we made it 50 ft at most, by then I was exhausted.
The new plan was in place and my brother was now waiting for the paramedics to show up at the public gate to guide them to the small tree trunk sticking out of the water that I had managed to find. While I waited, my only conciliation was the pain medication my brother had found, it looked and smelled like puke, but I was directed by my brother that it was potent and to hold my nose and drink it down, I was in no position to complain. Shortly after that I was now in pain…and drunk!!
Things started to become busy in the marsh after that, I could hear voices and chainsaws, and other machines and within an hour I was tied to some type of plastic table and then being hauled out of the woods by what seemed like a whole team of guys and gals, they were taking turns and switching off every ten feet or so with three to six people per side. Once out of the marsh, I was put on some type of Argo machine that took me the rest of the way, to the main road where an ambulance was standing by.

It’s November 10 2018 at 11:58 in the AM. I’m laying here in bed and just finished taking my second dose of pain medication for the day, my first was at 4:30 this morning. This will go on 24/7 until I can either tolerate the pain, the pain subsides or the doctors decide that I’ve had enough and they cut me off. Anyone that knows me would know that when I have any free time, I’m either chasing whitetails or Salmon, depending on the time of year. Right now, were smack dab in the middle of the rut here in Wisconsin and I’m stuck on my back for god knows how long because of an accident I had on November 3rd. My story isn’t for sympathy or help or anything like that, I’m writing this because I feel, as an avid outdoorsman, it’s my responsibility to inform. The truth of the matter is that I wasn’t wearing a safety harness. I’ll never fall from a tree, the harness gets in my way, I don’t go up that high, I have more excuses but hope you get the point. Let my ignorance be your guide. If not for yourself, think of the people that are affected by an accident, your partner, your family, your friends, your co- workers, your employer the list goes on. My promise to my fiancé, I will never climb or be in a tree without being tethered to that tree. I broke my Tibia, my Fibula, and dozens of pieces of other bones too many to count, my surgery took 2 hours and to put me back together took screws, plates and rods, I will be off my feet for months, I will always have some pain in my left leg and am guaranteed to have arthritis. The cost of a safety harness? Under $100.00. I’m lucky to be alive…. but it’s your call!!!

[Stretch]

Thanks for sharing your story. I will share it with my nephew, as he thinks he's to cool to wear a saftey harness. Best wishes and speedy recovery

[muddy]

I am sorry for your accident and glad you will likely heal in time. These past 2 years I started religiously using my lineman belt even on perfect trees.

[stash59]

To a speedy recovery!

[muskieman]

Wow, get better fast!

[hambone]

I am glad you lived to hunt another day! Thanks for having the "courage" to share your story. It hits close to home. In '93 I fell 20 feet and hit the ground above my right orbital. It's been surgeries and constant pain for the past 25 yrs. and I ain't been right since. I've grown fond of using a Petzl Corax RC harness, tethered with an 11mm static rope, Black Diamond Rock Lock carabiner and Ropeman 1. Here's to a quick recovery! GODSPEED!

[Dewey]

Very sorry to hear of your accident and hope your injuries heal fast. Your lucky to be alive. Thanks for sharing your story and bringing awareness to wearing a safety harness at all times. Sometimes we need a story like this to wake us up and make us think about what could happen. We all think it could never happen to us but fact is if you hunt long enough it WILL. One fall could change your life forever and affect everyone around you as well.

[Bonecrusher101]

Praying for a speedy recovery!!!

I broke both my femurs in a car accident in 2012. I couldn't stand for months and had pee bottles and bed pans to use the bathroom in. But it got better! I went from a wheel chair, to a walker, to crutches to now being able to jog. it's taken several surgeries and been plenty of pain. It's been tough staying positive through all of it but Ive kept at it and am back doing well. I know You can do it too!

Try to increase blood flow through your body it will help you heal faster. If they give you physical therapy or exercises try to take it seriously and do as much as you can early on without overdoing it. Even holding stretches or doing zen type poses can help. Listen to your body, but also try to push it physically when you can. Arm exercises are a good start. Stay motivated and don't be too hard on yourself. Focus on moving forward and try not to dwell on the past.

It's normal to feel depressed and only people who live with chronic pain understand how it affects your mood. Try not to let it get the best of you. Stay hard.

Feel free to pm me if you need to vent, need encouragement, or are just bored.

[Jackson Marsh]

You are very lucky to be alive and not paralyzed. Bad things happen in the blink of an eye. Thanks for sharing your story. Prayers for a speedy recovery.

A harness and using a linesman belt/rope will not slow anyone down, will not increase noise and actually makes hanging the stand way easier. I would encourage hunters to use them.

[briar]

From a guy that has hit the ground 3 times in my career from various heights and situations I certainly echo the idea that things happen so fast. I feel awful this happened to you. Hang in there stay strong and be a friend of the beast, lots of support here.

[matt1336]

Thanks for sharing. I never used to wear a harness. I do now. I actually think hanging the stand and sticks is way easier when your attached to the tree by a lineman’s belt.
I had a canoe accident last week. Things happen and they happen fast, no matter how experienced you think you are.

[HunterBob]

Wow, thanks for sharing and for the reminder of the risk we all take if not wearing a safety harness. Hope you heal up quickly and are back at it next year

[218er]

Thanks for sharing your story. I wish you a speedy recovery. I previously didn’t wear a safety harness thinking it slowed me down but than I figured out having use of two hands is quicker than one.