Joey's Broken Back

[SouthSoundTree-]

At Dept of LnI, your Worker's Comp Insurance is technically called Industrial Insurance. Our rates are planned to go up soon, btw. ~$4.45/ hour for residential tree work. Logging Felling rates are something like $30/ hour.

Jed, do you mean your company will be looking out for Joey when you say a tad bit better than WC?

 

[rskybiz]

Jed all my best to Joey and a speedy recovery. I keep lifelines seperate and do so because my life is on the line.

 

[squisher]

All my best to your coworker Jed. I wish Joey a speedy and full recovery.

 

[Jed]

No Sean: I simply meant that I felt like Labour and Industries worked out a tad bit better than California's Workman's Comp, but I could very easily be wrong here. Ohhhh, nooooh.... Please DO NOT misunderstand me: the company is trying to throw him under the buss as expediently as they can for not adhering to the corporate standards. What else is new eh? I can't even believe I'm saying this, but, "Thank God for the State."

 

[sawinredneck]

I'll try to not let my own experience with this hamper the mood.
So I'll wish him a full and speedy recovery! I sincerely hope he recovers fully.

 

[Burnham]

As usual, Carl is correct re the distance of fall, and it does make a difference, for sure.

For y'all that worry about rappels on an 8 and the potential to lose control, remember the self deployed belay...a friction hitch under the 8 to take over if your brake hand fails. It's quick and easy, and I taught a bunch of T'Housers how to do it back in 2009 when we climbed redwoods with Wraptors in Leggit, CA. Y'all recall?

And if that's too much hassle, if you have a groundie, he can provide a ground belay on an 8 very effectively, too.

Hoping for the best of recoveries for your co-worker, Jed. Give him our best wishes.

 

[Jed]

Thanks so much for the well-wishes. I think he was released from hospital last night, so I should get to see him soon.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Outstanding!

 

[BIGTWIG]

Glad to hear he survived, I wish him a quick recovery!

 

[Jed]

Ha!!!!! Jo's doing great!!!! Just talked to him tonight FINALLY. He's gonna be on a ton of Hydrocodone for like three months, but other than that, he's walking around--albeit with great circumspection, and he's feeling like a million bucks. The guy just sits around healing-up and watches about a thousand mountaineering documentaries a day. Man, that kid's a freak. He just can't wait to get up on top of some freezing cold mountain, so he can try to kill himself again. That said: he's one of the most positive human beings I've ever met in my life. It's a gift to still have him around. I'm going to drive him out here for dinner later next week. The doctors think that he'll only have his hard-plastic back cast for about three more months. I told him all about Stig, and Joe just sat there on the other end of the phone for the longest time just listening.... he was just transfixed. When I had finished he said, "Jed, that you so much for telling me about that guy. That's incredibly encouraging!"

Man, that kid's on top of the world. You'd think that a broken back was the best thing that ever happened to him.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Geeze thats good to hear.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Wow, that's outstanding! Great Health Vibes to Him!!!

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Good luck Joey. Hope the pills don't kick his ass in the long term.




An auto block belay backup is a French prussic/ valdotain (not VT) tied with a loop of accessory cord below the rappel device, clipped into the leg loop. Your brake hand keeps pushing open the auto block when you are in control, and if you lose control, letting go of the rope, the AB grabs, and forces the rappel to lock up. This hitch is easy to release after loading, unlike a prussic above the rappel device, which then can't be extended away from the body.

Extending the rappel device away from the body with a life support sling is very good for control and to keep shirt and hair from entanglement.
This let's you get both hands on the rope. If you wear gripper gloves, this allows room for hand over hand, rather than burn off the gripper latex. This let's both hands ride on your lap/ legs comfortably, and symmetrically/ ergonomically, rather than the typical one hand up and one hand down. Stiff arming the brake side to a degree.


A Ground belay, aka fireman's belay, means that a ground person holds the tail of the rope, ready to pull down and arrest the fall. A munter hitch is in the braking position with the tail exiting the biner upward. A FB will need a lot of force, possibly fighting the climber pulling up to lock a minter hitch in the Non braking position.


This comes from rock climbing where 100 and 200 for rappels are common on long routes.

Furthermore, if you don't have a prussic, and need to stop hands free, take the brake side, drop it down the outside of your legs, rather than between ( let's say over the right leg), bring tail around your right hip/ thigh, under your butt/ top of hamstrings, up over the left thigh and down between your legs. Wrap left thigh as needed, maybe 2 to 3 wraps. It's locked off. When ready to proceed, hold the rope in the regular braking position with two hands, flick off left leg with some leg motion. Head down.

There should be a rappel technique thread.



If on spurs, just keep your spurs and lanyard on, and let the groundie work on other stuff, imo , as practical.

 

[Jed]

Now that was a cool post, Sean. I'll read it again, and think about this stuff.

I just wanted to thank you all for the well-wishes, concern, and advise. I went and got Joe out in Seattle so that my wife could feed him dinner, and at least get him out of the daily routine; but, as I said before: that kid's on top of the world. He's healing wonderfully (A little too well: he bent down and snatched my 2 year old, Agnes off of the floor, before I could scream an objection.) Man, he's just laughing and happy all the time. I'm thinking I need some Vicodin.

Seriously though... This has been a really good time of reflection about his direction, and, weird as this is to say... well, o.k... I'll just use his words: "I'm starting to get really scared, because, right before this happened, I had been thinking over and over 'Man, I could really use some time off, away from this stuff to just get my head screwed on straight.' Almost like I was just putting something out there to the Universe."

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

ya, Jed, no lies, day in and day out risk of death or damage to a person, and risk of damage to property is mentally fatiguing. I have been feeling burned out and taking a lot more working these big firs of late than it would have taken 4 months ago. The cold weather needs adaptation, too (and hard to stay hydrated...a major safety factor). Way more to focus on than an average tree. I'm ready for a seasonal slowdown.

Good to hear he's bouncing back.

Joey's back is healing. He needs help to keep his mind straight with those pain killers. Pills are the road to heroin, as much as I can gather. A woman I know has a 19 year old heroin addict for a son. This will be a long healing process in many different ways, I think. Great to hear that this physical aspect seems to be rolling along.

 

[MasterBlaster]

With pain pills I'd worry more about constipation more than addiction.

 

[Jed]

I broke my knee in a motorcycle accident about twelve years ago, and my doctor gave me something like as much hydrocodone as a man my weight could ever possible want, which I became immediately, and completely addicted to. I absolutely loved the floaty, lovely, warm feeling of being on that stuff. I still want it as I type this.

Eventually my prescription ran out, and I couldn't get any more. For me it was just no big deal. I just ran out, and that was the end of that. I can only pray that things will go that way for Joe.

 

[Stumper]

Tell Joe thanks for his attitude. I was really feeling annoyed about having given myself mallet finger in the left pinkie and what a pain winter work with a splint is going to be. What on earth have I got to complain about?!?