Mayhem paid me an unexpected visit a week ago last Tuesday. I was able to crawl into the house for the night and on Wednesday got these X-rays:

There was no question of where I should go. The damage was accompanied hy a hemo/peumothorax and collapsed lung. I got home Sunday night with both lungs working again. Everything is supposed to "remodel."

I thought the X-ray was interesting as the line of breaks (ribs 3-8) outlines the ladder rail onto which I fell.

It is hard to maneuver the mouse with my right hand for making Eagle PCB traces, among other things.

I am on the mend but will be laid up for several weeks or months.

Regards, John

 

Another trophy for the war case. I've got two so far, broken arm and foot. Don't go to any comedy acts.

 

Arm, foot, leg. Last one was February 1962, the day John Glenn made three orbits of the earth.

 

Yikes. I've recovered from cracked ribs a couple times but not quite that bad. They say it takes 6 weeks for the bones to mend and in my experience that was right on. A sneeze at 5 weeks still ruins your day but two weeks later, it's just a sneeze. You'll feel a lot better in a day or two when the swelling goes down and you can get off the meds.

Soooo, how did you manage to land on the ladder rung?

 

It was from an extension ladder I had used to get on the roof. As soon as I applied my full weight to come down, the locks let loose, and it was a quick trip to the bottom. I can't remember how the ladder ended up under me.

I have a good theory of what I did to make the locks come loose and won't make that mistake again. I use a safety rope. This time, it was tired just around the top rung. Next time, I will be sure it is tied around a rung from each section.

John

 

Sorry but I think we need a training video.

 

This seems like an opportunity to say that I am still improving from my squished disk of last July. Within the last 2 weeks, I have achieved completing what used to be my, "usual" 1 mile nightly walk.
This is a Big Deal from my point of view.

In order to seem relevant to this thread, I can say I rode a ladder down the side of a building, once. I only broke my arm.

I would list the other fractures I've healed, but I'm afraid it would start a one-upmanship contest, and the first liar never wins.

 

This was my first bone break in 72 years. I have been lucky. What I found ironic was that my theory for the way the latches became unlatched was by dragging a high-pressure spray hose over the safety rope. That must have raised the top section just enough for the flippers to shield the latches. I had never used a safety rope in the past. Its sole purpose was to allow me to raise the ladder in case it accidentally got knocked down.

I really hate working alone and forbid it in my business, but now I don't really have a practical option for quick little projects. I do carry my emergency cell phone.

John

 

Try not to laugh, cough or sneeze.

 

In order to clean the moss of the north side of my house, which is on a hill from one side to the other (the right side is high; the left, low). I had a cement block under the low leg. Of course, while I was scrubbing the siding, the leg came off the block. I rode the ladder down to about ten foot off the driveway and then I jumped. Nothing broke, but lots of bruises and overall soreness.

 

Ladders, ladders, ladders!!!

Ladders have done more harm than electric current to people I know.

My first cousin was killed falling off a ladder.

 

Ladders, ladders, ladders!!!

Ladders have done more harm than electric current to people I know.

My foot was broken in a ladder fall at work. One of the techs had overtightened a VCO fitting and had rounded out the seal. I was inspecting the overhead piping to see if a contractor would do a quick circular weld to replace it and was standing on a two foot step ladder. The damn slipped, one leg fell into a hole in the floor for a large vacuum pipe without a lip on the edge. I fell backward, my foot was wedged between the rung and top causing it to give a loud SNAP just before my back hit the floor at an angle. A few week later the safety guy started installing angle brackets on all the floor cutouts.

 

Ouch! Have a good recovery, John.

 

Ladders are definitely the most dangerous thing I found on board. So much people injured because of them.

John, have you call someone to assist you? You live alone, right? Wow.

 

Ladders, ladders, ladders!!!

I bit the bullet and had one of those LeafGuard things installed on my gutters last fall. I hated going up there 20 years ago. Now, forget it, I want to keep living a while longer.

 

Ladders, ladders, ladders!!!

Ladders have done more harm than electric current to people I know.

My first cousin was killed falling off a ladder.

Ladders and Electricity.

An aluminum Ladder and Electric current from a 110ac power cord. One of my Friends brothers; I would have thought would known better; he was on the ladder cleaning out his swamp cooler when the cable fell into the water killing him.

kv

 

Bad news! Maybe you should stay away from the Jokes thread for a month or two. I know how irritating chest injuries like that can be, have fallen off the motorbike a number of times.

It might be a good idea to keep of those ladders from now on. Don't over-do it and get well quickly.

 

Gosh... you guys make me feel soooo guilty... I'm in perfect health and have no issues other than slightly cracking knees.
The worst that's ever happened to me was a root canal that I had to go through about 25 years ago... I was in so much pain that I decided to get drunk that day... and it worked!... for the night only... imagine the size of hangover that I had to survive the next day.

 

My cracked ribs on the right were from a head-on car crash with a drunk during a thunder-snow-storm. The shoulder strap saved my life but did some damage.

On the left side, I did an unplanned windsurfing move known as a catapult, as nicely demonstrated by the person in the photo. I ended up being impaled by the tip of my board, which I was still harnessed to. It took me half an hour to get my breath back enough that I could get back on and sail home. It was a bad day - I also broke an ankle bone when I hopped off the board in water much shallower than I thought. That's one of those weekends when you're glad to go back to work on Monday.

 

My cracked ribs on the right were from a head-on car crash with a drunk during a thunder-snow-storm. The shoulder strap saved my life but did some damage.

On the left side, I did an unplanned windsurfing move known as a catapult, as nicely demonstrated by the person in the photo. I ended up being impaled by the tip of my board, which I was still harnessed to. It took me half an hour to get my breath back enough that I could get back on and sail home. It was a bad day - I also broke an ankle bone when I hopped off the board in water much shallower than I thought. That's one of those weekends when you're glad to go back to work on Monday.
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Ok... first I felt guilty... now I feel.... boring ... I'm beginning to wish I had more adventures