TIP Failure results in broken pelvis and broken L5

[Hunnicutt]

Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery! I had a pretty bad TIP failure years ago, but I was a whole lot luckier than you were. I shared my experience a year ago or so, but I'll just repost here.

I've never taken a real fall, but I've come so close it's a little scary to think about. I had just isolated what I thought was a nice TIP on a decent sized sugar maple. I tested the line with my weight and noticed that it seemed a little sloppy for the size of the limb I was tied to. I figured I was just being paranoid so I went on up. About 2-3 feet off the ground I hear a crack and landed back on my feet. Immediately I went into that surreal state of mind where time seems to slow down and you can make split second decisions. I knew exactly what had happened and started backstepping as fast as I could. I couldn't say how long it took for the branch to hit the ground, but I had managed to get about six feet away from where it landed. The tree was growing over a terraced garden with three or four tiers and if I had I lost my footing when I landed, I could have fallen 4-5 feet onto hard limestone rock.

There were all kinds of dinky garden ornaments and artwork and even a glass table with some chairs and miraculously the branch missed everything. It barely even damaged any of the planted flowers.

I ended up keeping the butt of the branch for a few years before I burned it in a brush pile.

 

[Bermy]

Hey, thanks for posting and updating us on your situation mate!
If the doc's say 2.5 months, add at least another 2! Best to take the time to let things mend really well before putting the kind of loads and strains back on yourself that we do in tree work.
Physio, physio, physio...did I say physio? I started at three weeks post op and kept at it for five months solid, then started working so now down to a couple times a week on my own, pilates type stuff and may go back in a month or so for some more general weight conditioning stuff to balance the work moves...
Good luck!

And Hunnicutt, thanks for that reminder too...dangerous work people.

 

[Jed]

The doctors do expect a full recovery though, hopefully I'll be back up and going in 2 1/2 months or so.

Man, you (I hope you see this) are so freakin cool. I respect a man to no end who's big enough to throw-up all his mistakes (like you've always done) all over the stinkin internet. Your dad raised a really respectable man. I'm freakin proud of your father, man, seriously. There've gotta be so many young dudes who are bound to learn a ton from you. Just don't quit, whatever you freakin do. Yer a really good man, Human. Stay the course. Your life has more purpose than half a dozen billionaires who just mow people over to get what they want. I've got a feeling that God rather likes you.

Yer vid stuff is really inspiring to me... thanks so much fer doin it.

 

[dstimber]

I 2nd what jed said in his post. I seem to have started this obsession around the same time as you. Have enjoyed your videos as well. I think you are the closest member on this forum to me that I am aware of "NW TN".

Anyways I wish you the best with your recovery!

 

[cory]

Hella post, Jedidiah

 

[Spellfeller]

The doctors do expect a full recovery though, hopefully I'll be back up and going in 2 1/2 months or so.

Corey, I'm really glad to hear this. Your channel came up in my YouTube "Recommended" feed last night, and I stayed up way too late watching many of your videos. Then I checked in on TH for the first time in a LOONG time and your story was here too. Small arb world, eh!?

While watching some of your techniques/practices did give me the heebie jeebies, especially in the early days, I--like many others--appreciate your willingness to document and lay out the steep learning curve of treework in all its (sometimes) ugly glory. I'm really sorry about your accident but very glad to hear that the prognosis is so good. Thanks for all the work that goes into your channel and all my best for a speedy recovery!

Jeff

 

[rfwoody]

The tree was large enough that I tied on a 50' shorty onto my 150' main climb line just to have enough to tie my basal anchor. Thought my TIP was positioned well, bounced on it for a bit before attempting to climb it, limb snapped while I was making my initial ascent, hadn't done anything yet, was just passing the first lower limb. Unsure of cause, might have be more dead than realized, might have had some cancor/rot that I wasn't able to spot from the ground without binocs, which I will be including in the kit from now on. Hindsight's 20/20, didn't really do anything out of the ordinary or uncommon, just should have taken more precautions as I wasn't able to verify my TIP was 100% safe.

The whole block used upside down, was only that one cut, just got flipped on me. I'll be the first to admit I didn't have the skill or experience at that point to be working crane jobs at that point in my climbing career, only had a couple months in the saddle, and it shows. I'd like to think I've gotten much better over the last year, obviously not I guess though, as I'm sitting here in a wheelchair =(

The doctors do expect a full recovery though, hopefully I'll be back up and going in 2 1/2 months or so.

Great to hear about the full recovery, sir!

 

[rfwoody]

@RLfailuer
@Hunnicutt

please forgive me if the sound of this sounds any disrespectful or talking about something I know nothing about or being a smart a** or anything like that.
my point in asking this question is to learn and to support something my tree climbing instructor told us, so that one with less guts than you or any other professionals here may proceed with as much caution as possible.....

Were your your Tie in Points at the base of the branch, next to the trunk? or somewhere out toward the middle of the limb away from the trunk?

RLfailuer (Human), when we told our instructor about your video and your fall (I'm very glad to hear about the full recovery), he immediately said (i.e. from his own experience) "he wasn't tied in at the base of the limb, he was tied in at the middle of the limb somewhere"

Would you/y'all or anyone please comment on this?

Thank you,

Robert

 

[Raj]

I wouldn't make that assumption. Sounds like it, but we don't have the pics.

 

[Mick!]

I took a tumble in 2012 and broke 6 ribs on the same side.

Not for one second in hospital did I consider giving up.

Good luck in your recovery.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Dumb question, but what's it feel like to break six ribs? It must be difficult to breathe.

 

[Limbrat]

I did one a couple of times, I can't imagine six at one time. Sneezing or laughing would be brutal I'm sure.

 

[Mick!]

Honestly, it wasn't too bad, I was on so many drugs at the hospital the pain was manageable.

The big issue, apparently, is the onset of pneumonia because the lungs are expanding properly or something.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I broke my collar bone when a kid. A pretty substantial dull kind of ache I recall.

 

[stig]

I've broken plenty of ribs while fighting, never 6 at once, though.

Don't cough or laught too hard, that hurts .

 

[MasterBlaster]

Never broke a rib fighting.

Seems they were always going for my pretty face or Harry Nutsack.

Go figure.

 

[sawman]

I took a tumble in 2012 and broke 6 ribs on the same side.

Not for one second in hospital did I consider giving up.

Good luck in your recovery.

HUMAN THIS
Wishing you a fast recovery.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I broke my hand in a fight on the sidewalk after an altercation on the high school bus. I hit him in the eye socket and broke a bone in my hand. His eye wasn't purdy for awhile after that and I was in a cast. We were friends before the fight and then again after. We had something more to talk about.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Never had a broken bone....even after I was run over.


You guys gotta drink more milk.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Any cavities?

 

[Chris E]

I broke my hand in a fight on the sidewalk after an altercation on the high school bus. I hit him in the eye socket and broke a bone in my hand. His eye wasn't purdy for awhile after that and I was in a cast. We were friends before the fight and then again after. We had something more to talk about.

Ive been the punchee in a similar situation and the eye socket is not a bad place to take a shot-if high enough around the eye brow it would seem. This situation was a bit unique- we ended up in a melee with some strangers but the funny thing was it was me and the strangers (randoms from the street) vs my "friends" or more accurately old acquaintances.

 

[Tim_B.]

Ive been the punchee in a similar situation and the eye socket is not a bad place to take a shot-if high enough around the eye brow it would seem. This situation was a bit unique- we ended up in a melee with some strangers but the funny thing was it was me and the strangers (randoms from the street) vs my "friends" or more accurately old acquaintances.

Just came from the "Who's not around?" thread. Man, I would have liked to hear the rest of this story! How did all of this come about? Chris, if you're still lurking here, maybe you could tell us the rest of the story?

Tim

 

[Tim_B.]

Also, to get back on track, I'm glad the subject of the original post was able to make a "full" recovery. Although I can't help but think this stuff might give him some subtle reminders every once in awhile.

I'd like to see him back on this forum. By "him" I mean the member that goes by the screen name "RLfailuer" on this forum, and "Human" on YouTube.

Tim

 

[chris_girard]

I think that he has some new videos up on his recovery?

 

[Tree09]

Yeah he's climbing again. Bigger balls than I got, if I had a fall like that I would have a hard time getting back up there