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Friendly Reminder

brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
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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.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
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North Carolina
Damn, sorry to hear this Brock.... Seems like we hear something like this every year.... Hopefully he'll be good as new shortly..... Thanks for sharing.....
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
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SW Ohio
So very sorry to hear this Brock!!! Dadnabbit!!! Bills a real good person and I hate seeing terrible things happen to good people like him!
Hope he's alright and didn't have any internal injuries!
 

Boarhead

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
You are a great friend Brock hope Bill recovers quickly.Great advice I always let my wife know which farm I am hunting and have friends that would know where to look for me should something bad happen. Always a good idea also to keep our cell phones on us and not in a back pack that is hanging In the tree.No good to us up there if we fall out.
 

brock ratcliff

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Bill just called. Amazingly, his elbow was just dislocated. Hard to believe considering how awful it looked. He has to go see a bone specialist today to make sure it was set properly and he is sore all over. Considering what could have been, he's lucky.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,049
113
Centerburg, Ohio
Sorry your friend got hurt but I'm glad you got there when you did and glad he's ok. Thanks for the safety reminder too. I was going to set up a ladder stand by myself but I think I will ask for help now.
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
I always let someone know where I am. Just set a pic of the ones you care about the most right behind the steering wheel to remind yourself that they are counting on you to return home. Do everything in your power to do it safely guys