Lucky to be here today. Lucky beyond belief.
- Thread starter Jackalope
- Start date
Joe is very right. When I volunteered at the local FD. Everyone in the dept would have to do this exercise. It was to basically make you realize what someone that has been in cold water is experiencing, and how much motor skills is lost so quickly. I honestly would encourage everyone to give it a try.
Take a full sized igloo cooler. Put two bags of ice in and then fill it to the brim with water. Drop in a rope, a bolt with a nut (not threaded together) two pennies and a dime. Put both arms in the cooler so that both palms are flat on the bottom of the cooler. Hold them there for 60 seconds (keep in mind during those 60 seconds Joe was in for 15 minutes). Be sure to have someone time it because if you are counting it 60 seconds will only be 30. When time is up, find the rope and tie it in a knot. Find the bolt and nut and thread them together, then find and pick up the two pennies and the dime. You are lucky to be able to do it, and like Joe said the rest of your body isn't in water.
Maybe we can do something like this at our get together. I know we get together to have fun and stuff, but wouldn't it be worth it to set aside a half hour or so for someone to share safety tips or rescue techniques, especially if it helps someone save a life or their own down the road.
Take a full sized igloo cooler. Put two bags of ice in and then fill it to the brim with water. Drop in a rope, a bolt with a nut (not threaded together) two pennies and a dime. Put both arms in the cooler so that both palms are flat on the bottom of the cooler. Hold them there for 60 seconds (keep in mind during those 60 seconds Joe was in for 15 minutes). Be sure to have someone time it because if you are counting it 60 seconds will only be 30. When time is up, find the rope and tie it in a knot. Find the bolt and nut and thread them together, then find and pick up the two pennies and the dime. You are lucky to be able to do it, and like Joe said the rest of your body isn't in water.
Maybe we can do something like this at our get together. I know we get together to have fun and stuff, but wouldn't it be worth it to set aside a half hour or so for someone to share safety tips or rescue techniques, especially if it helps someone save a life or their own down the road.
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lung buster
Senior Member
So let me get this right.... a woman you never met took her clothes off & welcomed you in between her legs ?? I'm glad we can get a chuckle out of that now.
Finally had time to read the rest of your horrifying story Joe! Thank God you weren't alone and those good Samaritans were sent to help you! Dang man! Glad your doing ok and get your self back to normal soon!
Ricer2231
Senior Member
Damn buddy! The good Lord above has plans for you yet. Thank God the little things that happened happened.
Thats some scary stuff Joe, glad you came out of it OK, does this change your perspective on life at all after seeing how quickly it can be taken away from you?
Scary shit Joe. Glad you are ok. I was creek fishin a few years ago with chest waders on. I took one wrong step and damn near went under water, don't know if I would have come back up. Wont be doing it alone again. Again, glad you are ok.
Seen and read the first post last night before bed. I got up this morning and had to read the entire thing just so I could make sure I was reading what I thought I was reading.
Joe,
You might not be able to play marco polo in choppers or drive a train but, brother, you just won the biggest lottery you will ever play.
I have been in water that was flowing out of a frozen over lake waist deep and could NOT imagine being in your position knowing just how cold and bad my experience was. I would guess your water temp was 34-35 and at best 40 degrees. If anybody reads this and thinks they can just run buck naked outside in the same temps and stand there for 15min. and it would be the same, YOUR WRONG!
Anybody that has been in water this cold will tell you it's the coldest they have ever been. Anybody do the ALS ice bucket challenge this summer? As soon as that ice cold water hit you, what was your natural reaction? Stiffen up and GASP for air? Most cases your dead if you do that in Joe's position and there is nothing you can do about the gasp as it's an auto response. This is where most people right off the bat will drowned and die. The other thing that will get you is the amount of weight from those big bulky clothes. Add 30-50lbs. of dead weight in the pool this summer and see how long you tread water and just imagine fighting cramping muscles, pain, and hands and feet that feel like footballs not to mention it feels like your swimming in a sleeping bag. In the first 30-60 seconds you can't use your fingers anymore so, if your going to do any tests you better think about learning how to do it with your palms together and not one handed with fingers wrapped around anything because that's not going to happen.
I can't imagine how you guys are dealing with this Joe. I'm a wreck just reading and thinking about it. I'm glad everything worked out the way it did man. Like Jim said, you hear about things like this every year and it makes you think but when you know the person it really hits home and stops you in your tracks. There was a guy at our local lake fishing 2 years ago in the late fall with water temps probably mid 40's I would guess. Seen a dog swimming toward the islands in the middle of the lake so he tried to save the dog and reached over the side of the boat to grab it. The dog knocked the guy out of his boat. The divers found the guy a few hours later at the bottom of the lake.
Joe,
You might not be able to play marco polo in choppers or drive a train but, brother, you just won the biggest lottery you will ever play.
I have been in water that was flowing out of a frozen over lake waist deep and could NOT imagine being in your position knowing just how cold and bad my experience was. I would guess your water temp was 34-35 and at best 40 degrees. If anybody reads this and thinks they can just run buck naked outside in the same temps and stand there for 15min. and it would be the same, YOUR WRONG!
Anybody that has been in water this cold will tell you it's the coldest they have ever been. Anybody do the ALS ice bucket challenge this summer? As soon as that ice cold water hit you, what was your natural reaction? Stiffen up and GASP for air? Most cases your dead if you do that in Joe's position and there is nothing you can do about the gasp as it's an auto response. This is where most people right off the bat will drowned and die. The other thing that will get you is the amount of weight from those big bulky clothes. Add 30-50lbs. of dead weight in the pool this summer and see how long you tread water and just imagine fighting cramping muscles, pain, and hands and feet that feel like footballs not to mention it feels like your swimming in a sleeping bag. In the first 30-60 seconds you can't use your fingers anymore so, if your going to do any tests you better think about learning how to do it with your palms together and not one handed with fingers wrapped around anything because that's not going to happen.
I can't imagine how you guys are dealing with this Joe. I'm a wreck just reading and thinking about it. I'm glad everything worked out the way it did man. Like Jim said, you hear about things like this every year and it makes you think but when you know the person it really hits home and stops you in your tracks. There was a guy at our local lake fishing 2 years ago in the late fall with water temps probably mid 40's I would guess. Seen a dog swimming toward the islands in the middle of the lake so he tried to save the dog and reached over the side of the boat to grab it. The dog knocked the guy out of his boat. The divers found the guy a few hours later at the bottom of the lake.
TripleA88
*Supporting Member*
Holy fuck. No wonder you didnt text back. Didnt realize until I got on FB. Stick to turkey hunting lol.
Glad to have you able to tell the story Joe. It is another reminder of how precious life is.
Thank you for sharing and thank you to all those involved in saving your life.
Thank you for sharing and thank you to all those involved in saving your life.
Glad you're ok Joe.
Holy Shit. I'm at a loss for words.
Certainly is making me think about what risks I have taken needlessly and I'm gonna think if I have habits I need to change to be safer.
Holy Shit. I'm at a loss for words.
Certainly is making me think about what risks I have taken needlessly and I'm gonna think if I have habits I need to change to be safer.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Dan is right. If we were to sit back & really think about the things we do, we'd be amazed on how thin of a line we walk at times. It's so easy to take things for granted when everything is cozy.
Someone should start a new thread called Safety Confessions and we should discuss close calls, bad habits etc. Could possibly help prevent one of us having to piss on our hands to warm up our junk while naked in front of a woman we'd never met.
You DID wash your hands, right Joe?
You DID wash your hands, right Joe?
Buckmaster
Senior Member
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Absolutely. There are so many facets and emotions it's hard to know where to begin. The day it happened everyone was a wreck. When I was released from the ER a few hours later I walked out to the waiting room where everyone was. I was dealing with my own emotions after coming face to face with death; it's a horrendous feeling to know you're going to die very soon and their isn't much you can do about it. But to see the looks and bloodshot eyes around the room was unbearable. Many people go through life understanding people love them, they understand people care about them. But it's not until they die that the true extent of that love is clearly displayed through grief. That person never sees that love because their dead. I got to see it. This weekend I saw grief and sorrow, but I also got to see purely, without barrier, just how much people actually love me. It's one thing to know people love you. It's something else to experience just how much they love you. I've helped people near death after an auto accident, I've given CPR to an accident victim, I've made the decision on who to provide care to as the other person was too far gone. I've held a child as she died (later revived by EMS). I've been through a lot in life, but this humbled me to my core.
It's a horrible feeling to think about all the pain that it's going to leave behind. When realizing you aren't going to make it you think about your spouse, your parents, everyone that is a part of your life. It's one thing to think about the pain it's going to cause, after you survive it's another thing to witness just how bad that grief would have been. I have emotions I need to deal with. But I also worry about others as I know they have a lot to deal with themselves. When the man who saved your life hugs you and he breaks down sobbing to the point he's weak in the knees it's a big emotion to see and feel.
Anyone that knows me well knows I've always had a big heart, but they also know I'm mean as a rattlesnake if wronged. I will do anything to protect my family and friends and I'm heartless as a sociopath to anyone that threatens that. I carry myself in the same manner. I'm a business man that can entertain and rub elbows with corporate board members. But I'm also a hick from Mississippi that keeps a mental list of abandoned wells I've found in the woods. I've always been a friend you want to have and someone you never want to wrong. But this has humbled me to the core. Family has always been number 1 in my life. But I've always been a self sufficient man. If I want something I get it done. If I need something I figure out how to earn it. You tell me it can't be done, and I'll tell you to hide and see. I will put myself out to help family and friends but rarely take any offer of help for myself. I will lend anyone anything but will never ask to borrow something, and if offered I'll rarely accept it. Amongst many other lessons this has taught me that everyone needs someone. You're not 6 foot tall and bullet proof. You can't get yourself out of everything you get yourself in to. But most importantly. The difference between life and death is likely something so small it seems insignificant. Something as small as a paddle whose only purpose for being there was because it had a decoy hook on the blade. I've always been safety conscious. I've always made sure others were safe and would rather do something myself If I thought it the least bit unsafe for them. It's the little shit that will bite you in the ass, it's the little shit that will save your ass.
