Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ever Had A Brush With Death?

Salmonella;
This is an interesting topic to read. Thanks for the thread and thanks to those who've responded.

When I was 15, one evening I decided that I needed to tighten the traction bars on the driver's side of my Pontiac Astra GT. I was in a rush that cold February night as it was about -40� that night and I was in an unheated shop, so I ran it up on a chain hoist attached to the rear bumper with a length of chain and a double hook.

Anyway, I'd just slid underneath to a sitting position when it fell on me.

The car smashed the back of my head pretty good and the front of my head got beat up when it hit my right knee. The muscles at the backs of my knees, my groin muscles and my lower back muscles were all torn. My ribs were severely bruised and most of my internal organs were crushed too. Lastly, the 11th and 12th vertebrae in my back were smashed to powder.

I was under there for a bit, but not too long though, as I couldn't breath under that car. I whispered - shouted - prayed, "God get me out of here".

Something lifted the car off of me, as I clearly recall looking at the rear bumper coming back down when I unfolded and looked up. I've come to believe it was likely angels, but I truly didn't see what or who did it. All I know was the car was lifted off me and I was very much alone as far as humans in the immediate vicinity went.

I tried to get up and my legs wouldn't uncross for me. I reached over and picked up my right leg and couldn't feel it when I moved it off my left leg. I knew then that it wasn't good. The pain is still tough to describe, maybe like being scalded over the top half of your body. It came in waves every time you'd breathe.

I decided I wasn't going to just lay there and die, so I tried to get to a phone. Unfortunately there was a piece of farm equipment backed into a pile of scrap metal in the shop that prevented me from getting to that phone. I crawled over to the metal pile and was laying there flipping metal out of the way when I was found by my older brother sometime later - maybe a half hour, I can't say.

We were way out in the sticks, about 45 minutes from a hospital, so my brother called the neighbor who had a station wagon. It wasn't plugged in, but it started anyway and they slid me on a chunk of plywood and into the back of the Ford.

On the way in, I almost crossed over - I could feel the other side is the only way I can put it. The pain was pretty intense by that point and I was forcing myself to breathe as every breath brought significant discomfort.

They got me to the local hospital whereupon the local expert on such matters was awakened and came to have a look at me. After viewing all the X-rays and seeing my condition, he suggested to my brother that he call the rest of my family to come and watch me die, as that was all he expected of me at that point.

They shot enough Demerol into me to stagger a pony, I suppose to make the journey better for me. My eldest sister is an RN and later told me she'd never seen anyone my weight get that much Demerol with such frequency. The first few days are lost to me now, a blur of pain and pain meds that didn't really do much.

Well as T Lee said, it wasn't my day to check out, so I spent 7 weeks in the hospital, about 5 or so in a Stryker frame. I walked out with a pronounced limp, but ambulatory nonetheless.

Shorty after my release another surgeon advised me to change the plans I had for my life, that I shouldn't lift heavy stuff, ride motorcycles or horses, ski, play any contact sports - you know - be careful and sedentary in general.

I thanked him politely and spent the summer running a large and very rough tractor. I've skied, rode motorcycles and horses and done more than my share of moving large objects by hand since then, so I guess he was wrong that time.

Folks sometimes ponder what they'd change in their lives if they had a "do over" and I'll say right now I'd not pass the previous experience by if I was to receive one.

I believe that moment allowed me to have a unique perspective on what things in my life matter and what would prove to be less important. Many times that has proven to be a precious gift indeed.

Anyway Salmonella, I didn't mean to take up so much bandwidth, but that was my scrape. All the best to you and yours in the upcoming Christmas season and all the best to you all in 2011.

Regards,
Dwayne