As a logger with an ostomy bag, my life has been relatively easy, all things considered. Due to a work incident, I was rushed to the emergency room, where my life was changed forever. I do not dread this change in my life. Not much has changed, really. There are a few things that I can not do with ease, but I push myself to do them as I do not like them to ask for help even though I do appreciate it. Having an ostomy bag was life changing but not life altering. I did not need to change anything I was doing, and I’m actually going to get this reverted in a few short months, so I am looking forward to that day with glee.
One day at work, it was like any other day. Clear blue skies and not a single cloud were insight. It was a real hot one that day. If my memory serves correct, it was about one hundred and one that day. As I got to work, I met up with my good friend Chuck. He and I had a friendly chat about our weekend before we decided to get to work. As we began to work, I noticed something was wrong with my friend and asked him if he was feeling alright. He told me he wasn’t and, in fact, was feeling slightly lightheaded. I told him to get some water and take a break; come back here when you’re feeling better. He neglected to tell me that the tree he was working on was almost cut all the way through and needed to be fallen. I began going back to work on the tree I was working on, and the next thing I knew, the tree Chuck was working on to my left began falling. I did not see it in time.
I woke up in the hospital, where the doctor was talking with Chuck and my wife. Both had tears streaming down their eyes. When I woke up, they immediately stopped their conversation and asked me how I was feeling. I told them I was alright, but my stomach was hurting really bad. The doctor told me that it was due to the fact I had a tree fall on me and hit me exactly there. He told me that I would need a temporary ostomy so that my internals could heal. Chuck was apologizing profusely, and I told him it was alright. I know it was not his fault by any means, plus he was not feeling dehydrated that day, so I understand.
After my procedure, I got back to work after about a week and a half of sitting around the house. I realized that my job was not going to be any different due to my injury. It was still pretty easy to do my job, but there were a few movments I could not make. My boss also said he did not want me to do any climbing as he did not want to risk me getting a more severe injury. I appreciated him looking out for me.
As a logger with an ostomy, it has not been much of a change, except I can not climb until I get it reverted. Speaking of, I am having that procedure done in a few weeks, and I am so excited and looking forward to it. I am still close with Chuck, and almost every day, he apologies for his mistake that costed me. I always tell him not to worry about it and jokingly say ill get him back.
