This year had started off well and was looking at being a great year for my dog training business as I love helping other pig hunters with the training of their dogs. On Friday the 19th of February one of the members of our newly formed pig hunting club Allan Young came up home for the day with a mate Jeremy. The weather was perfect too hot to give the pigs a stir up so we sat down for a nice cold one before deciding to head down to the waterfall at my gate for a jump. Everything was going well while we were standing at the top as I turned to jump I slipped which took the slow way down via the rocks. It’s about 15 meters down to the water and by the time I got to the water a lot of damage had been done. The other two guys thought I was playing the fool at first but quickly realised that things where not looking good for me. They both jumped down and dragged me out of the deep pool and onto a small gravel area. I was a mess, later to be confirmed as 15 broken ribs two broken bones in my back one in my neck and a broken blade bone in my left shoulder. I was in and out of conciseness in some real pain so I was later told what had happened. Two ambulances had turned up with one driver in each. Luckily there were two other people turned up to help carry me up to one of the ambulances where I waited for a rescue helicopter. This was to be my first trip in a chopper and not one to remember. I was flown to Christchurch hospital where they put me though a cat scan to see the extent of my injuries. From here I was taken to the trauma unit. I cannot state enough how good these doctors and nurses are. The room that I was in had five beds with very sick people. On those first couple of days the pain was just so unbearable every time that I had to turn or move would take five nurses just too gently help me go to one side and I could not do this without screaming in pain. Also I had to contend with the other patients in the same state as me with their pain. On the first night I had a kathada inserted into me to save me having to get up to go to the toilet. The one thing that really caught me out was the fact that I had trouble having a bowel movement this meant that until I could pass food through my system I could not have food to eat until I went to the toilet for number twos. I ended up going just over seven days with no food apart from what was coming in through my drip. On day six I managed to get out of bed for my first walk with a walking frame. By day eight I had progressed to using a walking stick and they removed my Kathada. This was a big physiological edge for me and I started pushing myself to get out of bed and walk the corridors each day until my body was telling me I had to lay down again. The nurses and other patients were very impressed with my progress as I had gone from looking like I could have paid the ultimate price for my mistake to going home in eleven days. The recovery is going to take months yet until I can get back to work mean time I have to wear a neck brace to support my broken neck until my next x-rays on the 1st of March. If they come out right I will be able to do away with the neck brace. I have a big line of staples in my back where the doctors put screws and rods in me. They look to be the same type of staple that we hunters use on our dogs. I just wish that I could recover as quickly as a dog. I’ve seen dogs with life threatening injuries be back out on the hill in two weeks. Because of my accident I have had to make some hard decisions. I have Giving one of my main dogs Lightning to one of my club members from Christchurch, George Bright for a loan until I come right, George has a good young dog Zuke that only lacks age so to have him team up with Lightning will help him advance so much faster. One of my other dogs Thunder has been sent down to Oamaru with another club member Shawn Campbell. This leaves me with only three dogs, four year old Fog, his fourteen month old son Snow and my eight year old possum dog Jeff. It is now up to me to work hard on my fitness so that I can get back into the dog training and hunting again.
Hi Bill. Another cousin here lol! My late mum Dawn née Southcombe was your first cousin. Anyway, well done on your recovery so far! Slow and steady wins the race… My husband had a very bad motorbike accident about 15 years ago which saw him break 7 bones in his back along with a lot of internal injuries. He was told he wouldn’t walk again and weeks later walked out of the hospital and put himself through his own rehab program. His advice to other spinal patients over the years has been take it slow, know your limits, don’t ever give up. Now at the age of 50 he is still very active, still rides, has a physically demanding job (we have an earthmoving company) but still has to listen to his body when it tells him it’s had enough so that he can carry on again tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your story with everyone.
Thanks for that Sue, I guess I am a bit impatient and want to be back out on the hill hunting as soon as I can but I know that my body and wife are letting me know that I need to hold back a bit. I’m aiming to be out on the hill hunting for a competition in the middle of next month if my body is up to it.
I’ll second that.
Don’t be impatient, on the long run a slow but steady recovery is much better.
Not a race to heal fast….
Hi Bill(willy)I am your Cousin, Daughter of Harold and Janice Old. You are so very lucky to have come out of that fall alive as well as walking. Like you said I think its because you are so fit and healthy. Well done you.
Thanks Julie another cousin that I can’t remember. I do vaguely remember your parents. I am bouncing back fast getting fitter and stronger every day. I hope to start walking some distances in the next couple of days to try and get some muscle back that I have lost since the accident.