“Safety is no Accident… But bad decisions or faulty equipment often are”
By Todd Cook
On Monday, October 8 at about 3:00 pm I went out to our hunting land to relocate a couple of ladder stands. After moving the first stand I decided to take down a “hang-on” stand that we weren't using. I climbed the tree using the screw-in steps without issue and proceeded to take the stand down.
On the way down I was taking out the screw-in steps. I had taken four or five steps out when my foot rested on a step about three feet off the ground. The step came out of the tree and I slid with one of the steps left in the tree below injuring my right side, goring me a couple inches below my armpit and tearing upwards and to the left above my right breast area.
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| “The before and after photos of experienced hunter and Conservation Congress Delegate Todd Cook after his October 8th accident in the field.” | |
I felt some pain in that area when I hit the ground, and lifted my shirt to see the gaping hole. There wasn't much blood. I covered the area with my shirt and held pressure on the area with my left hand, then took my cell phone out and called my son. I told him that I had fallen, was hurt, to come get me and to call his mother.
After the phone call I took a few seconds to focus and walked out of the woods to my truck where I waited for my son. While at the truck my wife called and talked to me, and I explained the nature of my injury. She wanted to know if I needed an ambulance, and I told her no. My wife talked to me until she and my son got to me.
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| “The before and after photos of experienced hunter and Conservation Congress Delegate Todd Cook after his October 8th accident in the field. | |
She drove me to the emergency room at the local hospital, where the doctor was "impressed" with my wound. Three hours later I was leaving the emergency room with 35 stitches. The stiches were taken out two weeks later and I returned to work two days after that.
Most of us who consider themselves experienced in the field go through the motions of hunting. We’ve done it so many times before, it’s habit. Next time, go through the proper steps necessary to make sure your hunt is safe. A few minutes of thinking prior to acting may take away the few seconds it often takes to lose your life or suffer an avoidable injury.
I know I will.