TRAGEDY . . . WHY HIM?

[Gunslingergirl]

First of all,my sympathy and thoughts are with your friend. That's rough.

Second, I think that the tracking board is the best idea, and I hope other clubs take it up. Knowing where everyone is certainly helped keep your friend from suffering more than he did.

Being safe is always very important.

 

[ojibweindian]

S&WFan

How is your friend?

 

[MDHunter]

Our Thoughts and Prayers...

go out to your friend and his family.

And to the rest of us - let this serve as a wake-up call. The large majority of hunting accidents involve hunters falling out of stands. With the variety of good safety systems on the market today, there's no excuse for any of us not to use one. Trading a slight inconvenience, to prevent a potential horrific accident, is a no-brainer.

I never step into my climber without my Hunter Safety System vest in place. Now that my hunting buddy has children, he got one for his Xmas gift from me, with stern instructions never to get into his stand without it.

There are people out there that love and care about all of us - if we won't do it for ourselves, do it for them?

Michael

 

[S&Wfan]

Hi,

Thanks for asking about my friend, and for all the prayers!

He's in great spirits and his wife and him feel the good Lord must have some purpose in all of this. HOWEVER . . .

He is scheduled for his first surgery tomorrow morning, and the surgeons are cautiously optimistic at the Shepherd Spinal Clinic in Atlanta.

They say they are going to do everything they can, but he's got a long way to go and there are no guarantees or accurate accessments of how he's going to end up yet.

FOLKS . . . SAY A PRAYER FOR JERRY TOMORROW . . . and I'll let him know my cyber-buddies are pulling for him all over the country!

Thanks!

Tom


PS: Today I went shopping for a safety harness. At 55 years old, I've never worn one . . . but this was a real wake-up call for me!

 

[30 cal slob]

i am so glad that at least you remembered where his stand was located and that you were able to get to him - to at least save his life.

i also learned the hard way that a SAFETY HARNESS is VITAL even if you are only five feet off the ground - I fell only seven feet onto some hard ground and broke both arms.

t&p coming your way ...

 

[ambush]

Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for Jerry. All here, do yourselves a hugh favor. Buy a snap on harness. The vest kind that snaps in front and comes up between your legs from behind and snaps closed. They are very simple and virtually tangle free. They don't cost too much. Make sure its large enough to go over your outer cold weather gear. It takes 15 seconds to attach to the tree. S&W fan, keep us posted about Jerry.

 

[griz]

How is he doing?

 

[eden892]

My thoughts and prayers are with your friend now and as he goes through surgery and recovers.

 

[zinj]

Ack wrong thread! Please delete!

I hope your friend gets better S&W Fan.

 

[Jimmy Newman]

There's a fellow at a hunting club I belong to who fell out of a tree stand a number of years ago and broke his back. He managed to crawl out of the woods to his truck, where his father found him a number of hours later. He did make a full recovery, and is back up in the tree stands, but I'm pretty sure he uses a safety harness now!

You have my prayers for your friend's recovery as well.

 

[Cuda]

My thoughts and prayers are on the way..


C

 

[S&Wfan]

Thanks to everyone for writing!

Jerry is STILL in a whole lot of pain fromt the seven fractured ribs, two punctured lungs, broken facial bones and multiple fractures in his vertibrae. That's the bad news.

The good news?

1. His spirits, as well as his wonderful wife's spirits remain very high!

2. His first round of surgeries has allowed him to be fitted with a back brace, which allows him to now be able to sit up (with help of course)

3. As of today, they moved him out of ICU and into a private room and he was able to be bathed and shaved!


COMING UP SOON . . .

We are all hoping his paralysis is not permanent and that he can eventually have a full recovery. We'll know the prognosis very soon . . .

He will be meeting soon with a doctor who will review research and treatment plans, and learn the extent of his injuries.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR JERRY, AND FOR HIS FULL RESTORATION TO HEALTH!!!

T.

 

[RemingtonFreak870]

Hopefully so, very sad, as someone who never used a stand I will remember this story if I ever do. Spinal injuries are terrible, but many times people heal.

 

[firesafety3]

I am praying for your friend as well.

I am the Safety Manager of an industrial construction company and we preach and practice 100% tie-off. When Fall rolls around, we cover some offsite safety topics in our safety meetings: gun safety, eye/ear protection, tie-off in tree/ladder stands, etc.

I was watching a hunting program recently and saw that a few hunting show hosts had come together to film a commercial on tying off in a stand. They made the simple statement that most hunters know someone who has fallen from a stand. I find that statement to be true.

Making no assumptions, but if it were me laying in that bed suffering that trauma with a long road of therapy and rehabilitation ahead, I would want you to keep a video journal of the recovery. Present it to major hunting media (magazines included) for professional editing and distribution to show the consequences of such an incident.

Drunk driving campaigns use this head-on, shock value to drive the point home. My opinion is this sort of PSA (Public Service Announcement) would be very beneficial to all deer hunters, young and old.

Maybe this is one of the "good things" that can come from this tragic incident.

Our hobbies can have real consequences that change our lives forever. Be safe out there.