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Bow season comes in Saturday, obviously. With that, lots of folks are climbing trees and doing other dangerous, somewhat dumb things, that aren't really conducive to lasting good health. Here is an example of that:
My buddy and neighbor, Bill, has Parkinson's disease. He has had it for several years, and it has really changed his life. He deals with it as well as anyone could, continues to fish, work, whatever, but usually uses a scooter or quad to get around. He never moves fast, he can't. So about 3pm today he calls me up wanting to know where a treestand is located on the back of his farm. Mason and I had found it last weekend while squirrel hunting. Bill has always allowed a lot of people to hunt, he only requires they remove their stands at the end of the season so they do not damage the trees, and this one was in a white oak. It had been there for a couple of years I'd guess. He told me he was riding his quad around in the area trying to find it, so I told him Mason and I would be right over so I could take it down for him.
We get to the spot, and after walking into the woods I see Bill's quad close to the tree. As I continue to walk, I see Bill laying on the ground, the ladder stand laying on top of him. I said, "Bill, that's a funny place to take a nap!" "Are you alright?" He yelled back, "Not really". By this time I was running to him, scared to death of what I was going to find. As it turned out, his arm was bent the wrong direction at the elbow, his ribs looked badly bruised, and I was worried he may have done some internal damage.
I left Mason with Bill and drove the 3/4 of a mile back to the road to meet the squad and guide them to his location. After a while, he was loaded and on his way to the hospital. I checked on him there, he was in a lot of pain and the nurses were working hard to get enough dope in him to settle it. It was an ugly thing to see a friend going through, especially one that deals with a great deal of pain as part of his daily life.
They are doing xrays and such to see how much damage was done, hopefully it isn't as bad as it first appeared!
The point being, Bill had no business climbing up a tree, even a ladder stand. The thing was fine until he unstrapped it, but with his condition and constant shaking, it was a disaster in the making. And, he knew I was on my way! Knowing Bill, if he would have found the thing in the first place he would have never bothered to call me, and God only knows how long he would have laid out there before he was found. Makes me sick to think about it.
Use your head this year. If you are setting stands, get some help. If no one is available, at least let someone know where you are and how long you will be. It's funny because just two weeks ago I stopped by Bill's place to let him know I was hanging stands and where I'd be. It took longer than it should have, and just as I was finishing up I saw Bill driving his truck back the field to check on me. I asked him then if he was coming to recover the body... seemed funny at the time, today it wasn't.
My buddy and neighbor, Bill, has Parkinson's disease. He has had it for several years, and it has really changed his life. He deals with it as well as anyone could, continues to fish, work, whatever, but usually uses a scooter or quad to get around. He never moves fast, he can't. So about 3pm today he calls me up wanting to know where a treestand is located on the back of his farm. Mason and I had found it last weekend while squirrel hunting. Bill has always allowed a lot of people to hunt, he only requires they remove their stands at the end of the season so they do not damage the trees, and this one was in a white oak. It had been there for a couple of years I'd guess. He told me he was riding his quad around in the area trying to find it, so I told him Mason and I would be right over so I could take it down for him.
We get to the spot, and after walking into the woods I see Bill's quad close to the tree. As I continue to walk, I see Bill laying on the ground, the ladder stand laying on top of him. I said, "Bill, that's a funny place to take a nap!" "Are you alright?" He yelled back, "Not really". By this time I was running to him, scared to death of what I was going to find. As it turned out, his arm was bent the wrong direction at the elbow, his ribs looked badly bruised, and I was worried he may have done some internal damage.
I left Mason with Bill and drove the 3/4 of a mile back to the road to meet the squad and guide them to his location. After a while, he was loaded and on his way to the hospital. I checked on him there, he was in a lot of pain and the nurses were working hard to get enough dope in him to settle it. It was an ugly thing to see a friend going through, especially one that deals with a great deal of pain as part of his daily life.
They are doing xrays and such to see how much damage was done, hopefully it isn't as bad as it first appeared!
The point being, Bill had no business climbing up a tree, even a ladder stand. The thing was fine until he unstrapped it, but with his condition and constant shaking, it was a disaster in the making. And, he knew I was on my way! Knowing Bill, if he would have found the thing in the first place he would have never bothered to call me, and God only knows how long he would have laid out there before he was found. Makes me sick to think about it.
Use your head this year. If you are setting stands, get some help. If no one is available, at least let someone know where you are and how long you will be. It's funny because just two weeks ago I stopped by Bill's place to let him know I was hanging stands and where I'd be. It took longer than it should have, and just as I was finishing up I saw Bill driving his truck back the field to check on me. I asked him then if he was coming to recover the body... seemed funny at the time, today it wasn't.
