I'm a union carpenter and part of that means we go through safety training. Well in class today I learned of a fatal situation that not only applies to construction workers but anyone who would be suspended and not able to get their feet on the ground as in the case of a hunter who falls from his stand and is temporarilly saved by his safety harness only to be killed by the same device that just saved his life 10 minutes later!!!! Yes!!! You can die in your harness in 10 minutes!!!!!!!!
Another thing I learned was that 65% of fatal falls ahppen between 3 and 11 feet off the ground!!! and that's because we generally get careless at those heights and eroneously believe that a 3 foot fall is harmless.
Please click the link all about suspension trauma and have a plan to get back on the ground ASAP after you fall. I'll be modifying my harness so it can be cut away after the fall and I can lower myself to the ground using a devive know as a descender used in rapelling. Be carefull out ther this season!
Maybe one of the Admins can pin thi sto the top???

SUSPENSION TRAUMA

VERY good link!!!
Now I have a story to share....hope that's alright..lol.
When I was in one hunting club, there was a man who, before he came to us, fell out of his treestand. He didn;t fall to the ground as his strap held him and dangled him. He did, however, break a limb on the impact. He dangled for hours and lost conciousness and was found later on when he didn't call his wife and people went to look for him.
When he came to us. as a result of his incident, he was pretty much made of metal. he was covered in pins everywhere and he never even hit the ground. I don't know all the details, but, that's as much as I do know. He kept saying he was "very lucky" and that he almost died. And I thought it was very odd, considering he didn;t even exactly "fall to impact". I imagine him being like that for so long had loads to do with it.


Great link...thanks for it!!

Excellent tips and link matty369. It could save a life... Thanks for posting that.

As long as we are posting things that could save a life...allow me add this... If you hunt with an older person in particular, it could be a handy thing to know........

New Sign of a Stroke -- Stick out Your Tongue
STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters of "STROKE".... S.T.R.


STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .....she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die.... they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke... totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.

T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE(Coherently) (I.e. It is sunny out today)

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke.
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Good stuff, thanks guys. You never know when you or your hunting buddy might need some help.

AND..... These are also the kinds of things you will want your hunting buddy to know as well, in case YOU need help.