safety!!

[rockriver]

I wasn't sure where to put this post.
a neighbor is old and lots of medical issues...
hasn't been doing lawn maintenance and has a several acre lawn. we've had heavy storms.
so
I got on tractor and using rake to pick up limbs/sticks etc..
area is big. i'm in a hurry.

raking debris to several areas and making piles.

suddenly one curvy knarly storm blowndown tree gets "kicked up" by the front tire
comes up and under clutch and slams me on the shin. I thought it was "in" my leg as the dust settled.

I couldn't back up as clutch jammed.

hurts "like the dickens"

thankful for protection "from on high. He, the Creator and Protector!"
what if! that tree top had penetrated leg breaking bone? instead of bad scratches and bruising?
neighbor is too sick to drive. neighbor didn't even know I was on property and couldn't see me. my bride is out of town. property is off the beaten path. my cell phone was about to have a dead battery.
I could have called EMS, but what if?
it took a minute or two for me to be sure that no breaks and all would be ok. but what if medical
facilities were closed? we've all got to be careful out there.

I didn't have chainsaw nearby. couldn't move tree. leg wasn't up to normal and wasn't cooperative. tree was still hooked to ground. with a good leg, I still could not have moved tree.

I cranked tractor. dropped rpms as low as possible. raised rake. jerked shifter into reverse. (without clutch) everything shook. but tractor backed out.
if it had been bad injury and no cell phone, that tractor was my way out. and I need some emergency med. training.

[Bill Foster]

Sorry to hear of your mishap Rock. For the past few years, I make it a point not to tackle potentially dangerous jobs without someone around, even something as simple as being on a tall ladder. I'm no good to Ms. Foster in the ground or in the hospital. As she was an ER nurse, she has drilled it in my head that she saw just as many home repair accidents as car/truck/motorcycle accidents. Call me chicken if you wish.