TWANG! CRACK! OW....

[Drache]

So I fractured my sternum. Just got home from the ER!

I was climbing the ladder on the back of an RV when the ladder literally collapsed from underneath me. I landed chest first on the spare tire rack on the back of the RV. Extreme pain and nausea earned me a quick ride to the ER.

I was put onto a heart rate monitor and a blood pressure monitor. I was also hooked up to two machines, one EKG and one ECG (I thought they were the same thing but one was only to the chest, the other was chest and one ankle), given an IV, and had an ultrasound done of my heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. The doctor explained that impact injuries to the chest can cause damage that develops over time so I was kept there for 4-1/2 hours to make sure.

I was given two shots of morphine for the pain, one when I got there, the other half way through. Then before I left I was given two Tylenol 3s and a shot of anti inflammatory to my hip. This was to stop any swelling that could put pressure on my heart.

I also got two sets of Xrays. One when I first got there and another halfway through. Thought that was weird.

So now I'm home and in pain. Hurts to lie down so Im sitting in my chair.

[Mike DC]

Ouch!  Sorry man! 

Glad you're okay.  Screwing around with breaking bones near the heart . . . no joke. 



Was the ladder busted or something?  Seems like a freak thing. 

[Drache]

Ouch!  Sorry man! 

Glad you're okay.  Screwing around with breaking bones near the heart . . . no joke. 



Was the ladder busted or something?  Seems like a freak thing. 

The ladders are just screwed into the metal. There really isn't much keeping them on there. The metal appeared to be a little rusted and the screws holding the ladder all just pulled straight out.

[polywideblock]

I've had this one     different source of injury but the same thing, expect it to hurt like hell to breathe deeply for some time after they tell you all is good . I found I couldn't lean on anything for AGES afterwards , not a fun thing to do    

[Dino]

Dude that could've ended in a totally different scenario.  Not to say you were lucky taking a dive...but you were friggin' lucky!

ECG and EKG are the same, the K is here because the procedure was invented by a German where they spell it kardio.  They sometimes need to do a different lead placement depending on the readings.  

You probably had a second x ray because they either needed a different view or to make sure that nothing bad was happening in there that could lead to complications.  Better safe than sorry.

I never trusted those skmpy little ladders.

[Drache]

ECG and EKG are the same

So why two at the same time then? One simply a monitor and the other for a print out?

Like I said, one was hooked just to my chest and the other was to my chest and a single ankle. But they were at the same time. 

[Dino]

I couldn't say, there are so many different machines that print readouts they may have two doing separate parts of the process.   

It's a bit odd for sure but lack of funds sometimes result in odd things.   

They may have had good reasons to measure it separately, usually it's to get a cleaner reading but I'm sure there's a lot more to this.  I usually hook people up to a 12 lead including wrists and ankles.

[RallyeMike]

Some people will do anything for that sweet morphine!

[Drache]

Some people will do anything for that sweet morphine!

That crap makes me sick to my stomach 

[PlainfieldCharger]

I thought this was going to be a "fell of the ladder doing Christmas lights" injury thread This was unexpected, glad to hear you are recovering...I never will trust those ladders again..

[TUFCAT]

I hope you don't have to cough....for about a month.     Seriously though, I wish you a speedy recovery.  

[JB400]

This almost hurts just thinking about.   Hope you're able to get some rest the next few nights

[XH29N0G]

Ouch!  That is horrible.  Glad to hear it is fixable and wish you a speedy and full recovery.

[Drache]

I hope you don't have to cough....for about a month.     Seriously though, I wish you a speedy recovery.  

I woke up this morning and sneezed. That was bad enough 

[Patronus]

Ah, the ol' Alabama ladder ride eh? Take it easy for a few. You have a race to win!

[mrsskip68]

Gosh how painful and scary!!!! Could have been even worse. I can only imagine the pain . Poor guy.  Hope you have a speedy recovery and have people to cater to you while you mend. Keep us updated.   
Lisa

[twodko]

I relieved you're still with us Drache!

Of course now we are obligated to send you jokes
and pictures that will make you laugh! 

[Drache]

Ah, the ol' Alabama ladder ride eh? Take it easy for a few. You have a race to win!

I raced gravity to the ground there for a second. Was winning till my accident just before finish.  

[tan top]

 awwww nooo ouch !!   not good !   could of been worse ,   I know all about ladders giving way & sliding etc    smashed my ankle & lower tibia to bits  8 years , nearly lost  lower leg because of , catching MRSA , in the pin sites , after 2 of the 3 operations on it     ,

fingers crossed for a speedy recovery  

[ws23rt]

Ouch--I know how the memory of that sort of thing is. We can break it down into fractions of a sec. I had a ladder slide out from under me one time. It was a twenty foot extension type.  The footing was not sound (not tied off).  I remember every foot of free fall and was lucky to land on my feet.
On this topic of ladders I have been trained almost to the point of frustration about the hazards they bring. Their is a reason the hazards are drilled into us.
So I am at home and I see a branch on a big tree in my back yard that needs to go.  I have an electric chain saw on a pole. It wont reach.
My 16' ladder is not enough for me to reach the limb.  I drive the company pickup with rack on it next to the tree. I place a sheet of plywood on the rack and put my 16" extension ladder on the plywood on the rack. I tie the extended ladder to the truck and the tree. I then climb the ladder with the pole chain saw and can now react the limb.
The limb is about 6" dia.
and rather full of heavy stuff. I see where it will fall and undercut it a bit than cut from above.  The branch starts to fall where it should than swings around the tree to where I am on the ladder on the rack on the truck. ---I had no place to go--- 
I drop the saw and hang on. The three or four hundred pound branch comes around and hurts me on my perch.
I am scratched,brused and still hanging on.

The point of my little story is as careful as we think we may be their could come the unexpected. In my case I made many mistakes that would never fly on my job sites.  It's one of those things that we think we can do cause we are trained and are careful.  BTW no beer was involved.
I will call a tree guy the next time. I suspect that they have learned things that I was just learning.

[Drache]

Last night the pain was so bad I was almost in tears. Went back to the ER and was shot up with Morphine.

[RallyeMike]

Rib cage injuries are hard to deal with. I'll spare the details, but I spent more than a month sleeping in a chair. A recliner helps a lot, so if you don't have one see if you can get someone to find one for you.

[ACUDANUT]

Those RV Ladders have a max weight of 175 lbs. 
Most of us are too heavy for them. Glad your ok.

[Drache]

Those RV Ladders have a max weight of 175 lbs. 
Most of us are too heavy for them. Glad your ok.

The average person Ive seen driving an RV is more than 175lbs 

[draftingmonkey]

ECG and EKG are the same

So why two at the same time then? One simply a monitor and the other for a print out?

Like I said, one was hooked just to my chest and the other was to my chest and a single ankle. But they were at the same time. 

One was probably used strictly as a heart monitor with just chest leads. The ankle lead was used as a ground lead for the second machine and they probably wanted to monitor your heart/circulation systemically.