NE WA - Whitetail - Gory Blood and GORE!

[Steve Jo]

So, I got to deer camp, got set up and started cutting some fire wood.


In the middle of cuttin, I had a log shift, bump the saw and the saw, though not running hard at that moment 'touched' my non chainsaw proof REI pants.

I stopped the saw and had one of those, "Did that just <insert expletive here> happen?!" moments.  I had felt the saw 'hit' my knee cap in the area of my pants that now held a sizeable rip, however I did not feel the Texas Chainsaw Masacre type rending of flesh from bone that I would normally expect from a chainsaw contacting flesh type incident. 

This was not going to be a good start to a hunting season that started last year and never really ended after over 120 hours in the stand without filling a tag.  I had spent the entire year refining strategy, shooting ability, honing my gear and technique to be able to come into THIS season 100% prepared.  And now I had a rip in my pants and an unknown amount of 'other damage'

[huntnnw]

is there more to this?

[Steve Jo]

I knelt down and peered into the gaping hole torn through the knee in my pants.  Hmmm... clean skin!  I GOT LUC...  wait, that's not where i felt the saw 'hit' my knee.

I stuck my finger in the hole in my pants and pulled the hole over to where I had felt the saw 'touch' my knee.  My heart sank...  There in my knee cap was a gash that pretty much matched the one in my pants.  This was bad



My wife grabbed the first aid kit and we sorted through it checking off all the items that would not allow us to keep hunting and avoid a hospital trip.  I thought briefly of a super glue / butterfly bandage thing and it might have worked if the hole in my knee was
a. somewhere else on my body other than the most bendy spot
b. approximately 85% smaller in gash size...

There was no avoiding a lengthy drive to the hospital and the very real possibility that I might be done hunting for several weeks.

[ribka]

You are very lucky.

I lost a buddy in high school to a chainsaw accident similar to yours.

I cut a lot of wood and I can see wearing the extra gear is well worth the trouble. Thanks for sharing

Hope you heal.

[gaddy]

oh man that really sucks. thank god it wasnt any worse. you might have lost a season but could have lost so much more. heal quick.

[Steve Jo]

OF COURSE THERE'S MORE!  now be patient

We got to the hospital where everyone was at first very excited to have their november dulldrums broken by the opportunity to work on a REAL CHAINSAW WOUND which Im sure most of them had studied on when they were in med school down in mexico (IM KIDDING!  They were top notch docs and nurses) but they really seemed dissapointed at the complete lack of exposed bone that my chainsaw wound had and most of them filtered out of the ER after seeing that I was just some dumb schmuck who was probably luckier than he had any right to be.

My doc put in 8 of the most humongous stitches I've ever seen and told me to stay off of it for at least two weeks!

I laughed appropriately, and told him that opening day was a day and a half away.

"Listen, you are gonna rip these stitches out if you dont STAY OFF the leg!" and he looked to my wife and my hunting partner as if to get some kind of team support form them.  They both shrugged their shoulders.  

I was doing my best John Wayne impression, but I was really worried that I would simply not be able to get safely into or out of my treestand.  This season was not looking too good.

[Steve Jo]

Ribka, Im sorry about your friend.  I got VERY LUCKY
gaddy, we obviously have not met

Now everyone be patient, this story aint done!

[donimator]

Oh, I can tell this is going to be good.

[Steve Jo]

The next morning I got up and was pretty dang anxious about what kind of motion I could expect to get out of the knee.  The stitches were right across the knee cap and my concern was that I wouldnt be able to get my knee up high enough to be able to climb into my stand the following day.

To my surprise, despite some local swelling the knee still worked.  It hurt, but not in a 'deal killer' hurt kinda way.

I had been given pain meds at the hospital, but took ibuprophen instead as there is no way I would allow myself into a treestand on medication.  I mean, Im dumb enough to hit my leg with a running chainsaw, but Im not THAT dumb!

My first order of business in the morning was to finish cutting the wood with the saw that had attacked me the night before.  My friend was incredulous, but I told him that there is no way that the last time I ran a saw will be when I cut my leg.  In 15 minutes the rest of the wood was cut.

[fair-chase]

It's not even over and I'm starting to think this is the most intriguing story of the year.

[Steve Jo]

The rest of the day was filled with chores.  We had a 14x22 wall tent set up with a kitchen.  After brining in wood we needed to get a stand hung and a couple other items.  Darkness comes quickly in november and before I knew it we were in the tent, getting ready for bed and it dawned on me that TOMORROW WAS OPENING DAY!

A wave of mild panic went over me at the thought of committing to getting into my stand, 20 feet up with a bum knee.  I had worked all day but had REALLY taken it easy on the knee.  it felt 'tight' even with modest movement.  I went over in my head how I might get safely into my stand in the dark the next morning.

[gaddy]

and here i was trying to show some compassion & sympathy.

[Steve Jo]

Thanks Fair Chase!  it gets better

The next morning came and because of where I was hunting it required a mile and a half walk down an abandoned logging road to my tree stand which was located on the far side of an old clear cut.

I hit the trail with a margin of time that allowed me to saunter instead of hoof it and the easy pace loosened me up both mentally and physically.  It was cold, just below freezing but the snows hadnt started yet.  About 300 yards from the stand I changed into my hunting gear.  The freshly bandaged knee had some fresh blood showing through from the hike in.

"Dont push past it and screw this up, there's more than one day to hunt" I said to myself as my hand touched the first of 14 screw in steps snaking their way up the tree that held my stand.

I took my time, I had to really stretch to get my foot onto a couple of the steps and I thought for sure at one point I would have to at least rescrew one in to get a spacing that would work, but after a few minutes I found myself perched above the ground and fastening my safety harness.

"Alright, the tough parts over, now you just have to sit and wait"

[Steve Jo]

Gaddy, compassion and sympathy accepted!

as for my smug feeling of having the worst behind me... not so much.

I wont bore you with the details, just suffice it to say that sitting in a treestand with you chainsaw'd knee bent is significantly worse than walking into your treestand on that same chainsaw'd knee.

It wasnt agony, it was just really really really uncomfortable.  which makes time pass really really really slow!  After about 4 hours in the stand I looked at my watch and was sure it had broken as it indicated that only 45 minutes had passed!

I'm an all day sitter... it had been light for 45 minutes and I was ready to get down.

This was going to be a long day!

[EDT]

man, this story does keep going.  I should have waited to post.