Glad to be Alive... Close call...

As some of you may know - Sunday I was crushed by my 4x4 Quad Cab Dodge Diesel while working on it. I was rolled over by the Front tire... from my foot to my arm with it stopping on my stomach for a short time before I was able to leverage it enough to roll over my Chest, Shoulder, and Arm. It is a Miracle for me to be here and I would like to thank with all of my Heart the Friendswood EMT's, EMS, Life Flight and Herman Trauma Center for the fast response and great care. There were 3 times I thought I was slipping away but God's grace allowed me to get back home to be a Husband, Father, and hopefully a better person.

Details:
I changed my U-Joints and marked my driveshaft to reassemble it. I installed it but had a time with the bearings falling out. So somewhere while putting the bearings in my second half rolled on me making my marks out of line. I got a high speed vibration and then knew my counterweights were off.
Anyway Sun after Church my wife went to town and I was going to be a hero and redo my Driveshaft in a hurry before she returned.

Well I pulled the Truck into the Drive and Set the E Brake. But I later turned the truck around because the exhaust was in the way and I wanted more room to work from the other side. So I turned the truck around - jumped out and went back to work forgetting to set the Emergency Brake again (Wheel Chocks I know - I know...!!!!!) The whole time I'm thinking "Well the brake is set, I have safety glasses, gloves, steel toe boots, and long pants" Safety first you know!

Well I was horribly wrong in being so confident in my own safety.

I got the Driveshaft bolts out to the last bolt and moved parallel to the edge of the truck. Front wheel at my feet and back wheel down hill.

The last bolt 'popped' out and by the time I looked at the wheel I had to put my foot up to try to stop it... Instead it took my foot down and ran over my foot, ankle, shine, knee, thigh, hip and dropped into my stomach like a pot hole causing me to throw up into the air and my upper body went completely stiff busting all vessels on my chest, neck, shoulder, face, and eyes (patechiae). I knew I only had seconds left before passing out and I couldn't move anything but my left leg. If for no other reason but for this day I remembered a move from our MMA gym to plant your foot next to your hip to roll/sweep a person off of you. I planted my foot and twisted my hips as hard as I could. The wheel started to move over my rib cage and I could hear it cracking as it moved and I turned my head to keep my face and neck out of the way... It rolled over my shoulder and arm that was now on top of my tool box. The front tire was weighed on a Pasadena Police Scale and dialed in at 2900lbs without any frame torsion or vertical motion. (Possibly in the range of 3100lbs +/-???)

I looked up and over and saw my truck rolled across the street and two blocked against the curb with the driveshaft yokes (...bent!!!). I rolled over and couldn't breath for a while - when I could I started to yell for help... I didn't see anybody coming then lost my sight for another short while due to blood pressure dropping. Then I thought if I just sit here I'm going to die. So I stood on what I thought was a broken leg and hip and went to a pay phone I have in the Garage and called 911. When I stood I have to admit I thought I was leaving my body because everything just started to look see through and back-lighted. While on the phone some neighbors who heard me started to show up and help - Friendswood Emergency workers started to show up (2min response time according to EMS) and Life Flight was 8min away.
I woke up Mon and realized I had no broken bones and no surgery - see list of injuries below. The EMS later told me they didn't inflate my lungs because the thought my bowls were in my chest cavity and that would have been serious if not a fatal infection to puncture my bowls in my chest. I was in and out of shock twice - the EMT's told me my body simply turned around on its own and came out of shock.

I am just amazed and can't believe what DIDN'T happen - I am truly blessed to be a Husband and Father today instead of buried on Thursday. I just can't believe it... It was the engine side that ran over me and on a personal note it ran over my junk (just bruises) which proves it did go right up the middle of me as well as the clear tracks and marks. I am just thankful to be alive and it really changed me to think of how close I came to leaving my family behind...

Here are the details per my release papers from Memorial Hermann:

Pneumothorax - Right Lung (25% collapse – self resolving w/ 1-2 wks breathing exercises)
Fractured 4-5 Ribs - Right side (self resolving)
Lacerated Liver – Right Side (self resolving)
Broken L1 – Upper Lumbar Spinous Process (self resolving)
Multiple Contusions to Right torso and Extremities – Right Side (self resolving - Bruised Leg, Abdomen, Chest, Shoulder, and Arm)

Wow, glad to see you are still around to post the story. And amazing to have a truck run right over you and not have more injuries. Hopefully the recovery goes well.

Jeez, best wishes from "next door" in Pearland, sure am glad you're O.K. and thanks for your service.

Dude....Go buy lottery tickets cause you're lucky. Those trucks are heavy!

Gives me the willies just thinking about it. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Jim

Wow,You are very fortunate. It could have been a horrible accident.

Man that was a day I bet you can start over. Glad your ok.

Hermann Life Flight is a great outfit. I just flew down there (Houston from Austin) today to drop off a one day old baby at Texas Children’s and flew of Hermann's pad.

Take care and don't push trying to get back to 100% those injuries are going to take a while.

Fastback said:

Dude....Go buy lottery tickets cause you're lucky. Those trucks are heavy!

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They feel heavier than they look!!!

WOW! Glad to hear you're okay! What a testamony you have there!

Glad your're ok .. it could have been alot worse. Take care

No kidding that was close call. Glad you are not permanently injured or worse. As you said, it could have had a very different outcome.

Dayum, man, that happened to you and you lived to talk about it.
You must be living right.

Your story of survival might be worthy of an episod on some tv true story.

Glad you are still here! Go hug your family..again!

jay50 said:

Dayum, man, that happened to you and you lived to talk about it.
You must be living right.

Your story of survival might be worthy of an episod on some tv true story.

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Thanks Jay... there's a guy from a 50 paper affiliate doing a story on it now. He is meeting everyone involved and told me he wants to do a good job on the story and run it in the Thanksgiving week Paper because it is more family oriented that week. I just hope it raises awareness for our local EMT's... as you may guess I think the world of those guys and have gotten to know them recently and we all hit it off pretty darn well to say the least. They saved my life along with the Miracle of it all...

Holy *^&$!. I'm a doctor, not a play one on TV, and I'm here to tell you how freaking lucky you are to be alive today. God was watching over you in a huge way partner. Enjoy your second life!!!!

eborcim said:

Glad you are still here! Go hug your family..again!

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You got it bud!!! Here's who I almost left behind...

I got to talking with my son the other night and told him "Daddy sure is glad I didn't go to heaven yet..." to which he said "I wouldn't have a Fishin' Buddy anymore..." then gave me his Baseball blanket and told me to sleep with it that it would make me feel better... needless to say - I needed some time alone after that... you just never know! I remember thinking... "I can't believe it happened this quick" when the tire stopped on my stomach - I just couldn't believe a stupid mistake was going to have me check out... I mean I remember thinking "Shoot... that's it - that fast!"

You are one lucky SOB! Man, I think your wife would be correct in mandating supervision for you going forward. Its as they say "one little thing turns into a major thing in a blink of an eye". I must commend you for the quick thinking and action, which is what most likely saved you life, good thing you are good shape. Glad you made it thru it.

TheGrooveking

Glad you made it. Let me add that in addition to the parking brake, wheel chocks should be used.

Glad you'll be okay. What a story.

You are lucky to be alive.

Always wheel chocks, big rubber ones or metal ones for work like this. We had a lead mechanic at work years ago who was accident prone (no wonder they made him a lead), he disconnected the drive shaft on his truck while it was sitting on the ground, same thing, it rolled over him, down the drive thru the swell in the drive up the other side, then came back and got him a second time. This was a the same guy who got on his roof to do some work and tied himself off to a rope from the other side of the roof running down to the bumper of his wife's car, but forgot to tell his wife. She came out and got in the car to go somewhere, snatched him over the peak of the roof and down the other side. Would not believe it if it wasn't firsthand info.

Charles

I assume you'll be going to church this sunday also , glad your'er o.k.

It's amazing how events like this can change your life... I know it did me... I got shot a few years ago during a robbery attempt...
it seems that those simple things in life, especially the ones that involve family, seem that much more special...
I'm sure you already realize that, but that feeling will only get stronger with time.
Glad to hear you are gonna be ok. go hug those kiddos one more time...every hug from now on will feel better than the last..

I'm not sure we've ever even spoken on here, but I am sincerely glad that you came out of this. You must be one tough, lucky, or blessed SOB. Family, kids, wife, life, that's all there is, and I am grateful that you are still here to enjoy it and them, and that they still have you, too.

Heal quickly.

Wow! Glad your ok man!

Now you have a second "birthday" to celebrate!

So glad it had a good outcome. And a good reason to preach safety!


jerry

Glad to hear this story has a good ending!!!

I can picture your son at school next week saying "..yeah well MY dad bench pressed the TRUCK then got up and called his own ambulance!!"
You're one tough dude!

I cant imagine the range of emotions and feeling you must have gone through. Being on the brink and then given what seems a second chance. I'm glad you shared this here. It really helps put things into perspective.

I had a VERY similiar thing happen to me a couple years ago. I don't know how I did it, but as soon as i saw the wheels start to move I did some type of ninja move and was out from under it before I even knew what was going on. This was with a 2001 F350 crew cab long bed dually. Just had some scrapes but it shook me up mentally for about a week.

So glad to hear you pulled through. If anything, I hope we can all learn from your experience and take note to always keep safety in mind.

Glad you are OK! Once hellova story!

Really glad your ok ! I hope you recover fast and fully. Thanks for sharing. I know I get careless while working on my trucks, thanks for the wake up call.

Wow, glad to hear that you are alright (or soon will be)!

Sincerely glad your ok man.. I've had a few family members and close friends pass away suddenly in the past couple years, anybody can go at anytime..

And is that actual tire tread tracks on your arm in the picture??? If so, WOW!!

Your a lucky guy to make it through that.. Good luck on a full recovery..

Wow!! Thank goodness you're OK.

Maybe sharing your story will make us all think TWICE!!

How many close calls have we all had so far - how many more can we prevent - with your help maybe the rest of them.


Heal well

So is the drive shaft fixed yet?


Just kidding. Great t hear you made it through relatively unhurt considering how bad it could have been. Amazing what the human body can take with little injury and yet how a minor injury can cause death.

Happy to read that a fellow hawg rider is doing well after that ordeal!!!! Good luck my friend with the rest of your recovery....

Glad to hear your story had a happy ending - a lot of them don't! ( I am an EMT and know whereof I speak

Ditto on taking your time to recover. Do what you're supposed to (I know, I know...) and pay attention to what your body is telling you. You could still have some minor setbacks that need attention, so don't try to be a tough guy and just hope it will go away, OK?

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Glad you survived your incident!

Don't be in too much of a hurry trying to heal from your injuries, take it easy for a while and enjoy the time with your family.

Lane

Glad to hear that you are still around. I'm not gonna say glad you are OK because you took a whoopin'!!!! Thankfully you made it to a phone.

As a reminder to others, if you carry a cell phone, make sure emergency numbers are programmed in and the phone is always with you when working on a vehicle. I never crawl under a vehicle without a cell phone.

O s**t ! Wishing you a speedy recovery and follow the Doc's orders. Every day is a gift.