Slightly depressed....

[dave9999]

Hello everyone,
Last Tuesday (June 8) while I was working, I had a piece of roof decking break
out from under me. I fell about ten feet, landing on my left side. I broke three ribs
and had my left lung collapse. I spent five days in the hospital and was discharged on Sunday. Now I can't do much more than get up to go to the bathroom. I am active person, work construction and ,of course, spend a lot of time working on the layout. But this injury has me feeling like a caged animal. I have to be thankful that it wasn't worse, as I could have broken my neck or back.

The reason that I am posting this is to encourage everyone to enjoy the things that make you happy. I sometimes took for granted that I got so much enjoyment
from my normal activities, that is until I couldn't do them. In a split second it all
turned for the worse.

The doctor says I should be back on my feet in about six weeks. So I guess I'll
get some weathering done. And maybe some kits.

Dave

[dharmon]

Another reason I stay away from high places......

Get well soon hoss! Doc Dan says do two kits and stay off roofs for awhile.

[cwclark]

yeah dave...get well soon....and it's really not a total loss...you can still do some stuff...that's what makes this hobby so great...some things can be done while you are recooperating...just take it easy...put a couple of pillows in the sore spots ..get comfortable and kitbash away!....I know how ya feel..i had a tumor removed from my kidney and they went through the front to get to the back...(now i got a really cool scar to show off)..it took a long time before i was felling up to doing anything...but hang in there...the worst of it will be over soon....Chuck[:D]

[nfmisso]

Dave;

I feel for you, I had surgery 1½ years ago, and was stuck at home for three weeks, with oxygen for the first two weeks - it made me incredibly alert, hyper, like a caged wild animal, pacing back and forth, not sleeping, and not needing it either......

[Anonymous]

I had surgery two years ago. Before I went into the hospital, I bought a whole bunch of stuff (kits, track, etc..) to work on. Got home, felt so bad all I did was lay around. Went back into the hospital for a week. When I got back I felt a little better, so I was finally able to get a bunch of stuff done on the layout. Hope you feel better soon. What a way to get time to spend on the layout...

[brothaslide]

Dave,

Don't get deppressed - Go rent some great movies like. . .

Master and Commander
The God Father I & II
You got served - Fun teenager movie (acting is terrible)
Joe Dirt - I laughed my head off

By all means - DO NOT RENT GIGLI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lupo]

Sorry to hear about your accident!
I hope things change for the better soon and that you find things to do not involving to much physical action ! now is the time to read that pile of MR magazines you did not have time for when you were working!
It can be so frustrating not being able to do things that seem to be normal routine before you had that accident , but hey, from now on things can only get better!

[dave9999]

Thanks everyone,

I guess it's not so much depression, it's more like restlessness. But I will have more time to be on here. [8D]
I'm at a point where I need to do some weathering anyway.

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

Another reason I stay away from high places......

[(-D] Dan, STOP. It hurts when I laugh. Dave

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

Thanks everyone,

I guess it's not so much depression, it's more like restlessness. But I will have more time to be on here. [8D]
I'm at a point where I need to do some weathering anyway.

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

Another reason I stay away from high places......

[(-D] Dan, STOP. It hurts when I laugh. Dave

Well don't do too much weathering....I'd venture to guess that the dry Florida overweathering had something to do with you going through the roof......

[philnrunt]

dave- I add my comisser...comesser...great sadness over your accident. I've often thought about what I would do if I was laid up in hospital, bored out of my mind with nothing constructive to do, then I realize it would be just like work, so I think I'm ready for it.
Rest up, read up, now is the time to go back to the early days of the forum and become one of the wise men who know where answers to every question lurks. I've only made it to March '04.
Drink some of that fine OJ(with whatever painkiller you prefer mixed in), get some shade( I'm guessing you get plenty of sun at work) and get well soon.

[Anonymous]

Hope you get well soon!

[Anonymous]

Hope you get well soon. Don't over weather the stuff. might have been what happened to the roof you were on

[Anonymous]

[:(]Sorry to read about your fall and subsequent injuries. The CHIEF bids you a speedy recovery.

If you've any books and magazines pertaining to the hobby or trains in general, how about catching up on your reading? Even if you have well-worn issues of MR or other 'zines taking up shelf space, you'd be surprised at how 'new' they might feel during down times. In any event hope you're up and running ASAP. [:)]

[Anonymous]

Dave
Hope you feel great again soon[:D]. I really liked Brothaslide's movie suggestion. But try these for size:
Emperor of the North w/ Ernest Borgnine & Lee Marvin
Silver Streak, w/ Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor
Runaway train ,w/ John Voight, Eric Roberts and Rebecca DeMorney?
End of the Line ,w/ Wilford Brimley and Kevin Bacon
Under Siege2: Dark Territory . w/ Steven Segal
or all 45 Allan Keller Videos!!!!!!! ( w/ Allan Keller!!!!)

[vsmith]

Dave, I feel your pain! Always look on the bright sideof life. You could have had to walk to the hospital!

A few years ago I had a bad crash on my mountain bike back in the out and away, 30mph into a rain rut, rolled and skidded for about a 100 feet, tore most of the skin off my knee and elbow, broke two toes, scraps and cuts all over, and had to get back on the bike, torn and bleeding and RIDE back down the mountain to the campground where I could get treatment, then I had to drive myself home, had no insurance back then. I looked like the invisible man for about two months, was off the bike for 5 months. That was fun, almost as fun as the time before that I went over the bars, landed on a boulder and broke two ribs. Same story, had to ride back down even farther, boy that hurt like nothing I ever want to remember.

Glad to here someone was there to get help asap, that your healing up, and that nothing important like your back or neck was injured. Hang in there, it does eventually heal up!

BTW back when I was a building inspector, I fell thru a dryrotted deck plank wedging my leg right up to by butt, that was not an enjoyable experience (or sight). But better me that a kid falling thru it, at least I could chew the backside of the owner a new one and make him repair it before anyone else got hurt.

[Fergmiester]

Don't be !

Sometimes this is the the Big Guy Up Stairs telling us to slow down and enjoy the sights and smell the roses. Time to regroup, think what our heading is and adjust the the trim of our sails. In Other words sit back, relax, reflect and read a good novel. Inspiration is around the corner.

Get Well Soon!

Regards
Fergie

[tomwatkins]

Dave,
Get well soon. As you get to feeling better you'll probably find lots of things that you can do and want to do. Just don't push it too hard. Take your time so you get a full recovery.
Tom Watkins

[AntonioFP45]

Dave,

Sorry about your accident.

I know that as much as we enjoy this hobby, when we're depressed we can lose some of the motivation. I've experienced this before.

Don't fall into that rut! Push yourself, and work on your equipment. You'll start enjoying it after just a few minutes after "creative trains starts-a-rolling and picking up steam". Refreshing for the mind!

Like you, looking forward to that Tsunami! Wish soundtraxx would hurry up!

Don't forget the "Big Guy" Upstairs. Keep your lines open!

[krump]

Dave,
wishing you a speedy recovery with minimal pain.
time for gifts - train videos, kits, collectibles, trian eyelets (for scrapbooking), perhaps even a new brass engine or new scale railroad, or at Model R/R magazines, and all other R/Rmagazines you can find (not mentioned here due to professional courtesy ... or perhaps secrecy - not sure if MRR is aware of the other ones out there [X-)]... anyways, a self-prescribed summer holiday, you can self medicate with a mocha, man!
As far as gifts, the best I can offer you is my well wishes and perhaps an e-card... Take care buddy.
check out all the smilies that are available - that'll take at least an hour out of your day...You don't want to get too weathered...
cheers and God Bless

[Eriediamond]

Dave, I just saw my surgeon today and was release to go back to work. I can understand your feelings as I just spent seven months layed up from two major surgeries. Today's visit with the doctor was a bitter-sweet meeting as I'm healed up enough from the surgeries to go back to work with no restrictions, but bitter because at today's check-up, it was discovered my blood pressure is now to high to pass the DOT physical required for me to do my job, so now have to get that under control. Talk about depressed. I'm an over the road trucker, have been since 1958, and all those years on the road has been a way of life for me and not use to being tied down so to speak. I have found a lot of enjoyment here on the forum though and has been a great help during these past months. Hopefully you'll heal enough before long so you can enjoy some of your time off. Get well soon, Ken

[AggroJones]

Get well soon. I sent you an e-mail, did you get it?

[dave9999]

I just want to say thanks to everyone for your kind words and great suggestions. I'm sure once
I get mobile enough, I can find plenty of "sit down" work to do. I also have some decoder installations
that I need to get to. But since I won't be able to work for awhile, the $$ is going to get tight. Maybe it's
time to try my hand at some scratch-building.

Anyway I just thank God for letting me be here typing this response. I know of people that have had similar accidents and were no where near as lucky as I was.

And Aggro, I got your email. Man, that is some excellent advice on weathering. I have an old steam loco
to use as a test piece before I go all out on my Hudson and Allegeny. I also plan to weather three FA1's,
a GP7 and a whole string of hoppers, boxcars and passenger cars. This will probably unearth a ton of
questions, so I might need to email you with a few of them[:-^]

Again I'd like to say THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to respond. I'm feeling better because
of it. There are some really thoughtful people here. Dave

[Anonymous]

Hey, eriediamond, my LHS owner is a former over the road trucker. Talk about a change of vocations! My son is also an over the road trucker. I've gone on a few runs with him and my hat is off to you guys. How you stay awake on those long drivers is beyond me. I only do two things in a vehicle--drive or sleep--and I have been known to do both at once. Dave9999, I had surgery several years ago and had my wife bring owseveral train magazines to the hospital for me. Unfortunately, I discovered for the first few days after the surgery I couldn't read! That ability came back within a week, however. I wish you a speedy recovery!

Cheers,

Ed

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ebriley

Hey, eriediamond, my LHS owner is a former over the road trucker. Talk about a change of vocations! My son is also an over the road trucker. I've gone on a few runs with him and my hat is off to you guys. How you stay awake on those long drivers is beyond me. I only do two things in a vehicle--drive or sleep--and I have been known to do both at once. Dave9999, I had surgery several years ago and had my wife bring owseveral train magazines to the hospital for me. Unfortunately, I discovered for the first few days after the surgery I couldn't read! That ability came back within a week, however. I wish you a speedy recovery!

Cheers,

Ed

I had the same problem. I was in a neck brace and my ribs hurt when I tried to
hold the magazines up high enough to read. Things are getting better now. One
day at a time. I was able to be taken to the hobby shop yesterday. It hurts to move
around, but I enjoyed getting out of the house for awhile. Dave

[egmurphy]

Dave,

Good for you, sounds like you're making decent progress. Especially if you could get out a bit, and to a LHS no less! [:D] When you mentioned the rib damage I thought you might have a lot more trouble. At least it seems you're mobile enough to get to the computer.

Good luck,

Ed

[dave9999]

I'm able to move from here to there, it just takes me awhile. The trip to the LHS was an adventure and my doctor probably would not be happy about it, but I was getting stir crazy. Plus you can't trust anyone else to do your train shopping[;)]. Dave

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

Plus you can trust anyone else to
do your train shopping[;)]. Dave

Oh so true, Dave, oh so true.[;)] Hope you make a speedy recovery![:)]

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dave9999

I'm able to move from here to there, it just takes me awhile. The trip to the LHS was an adventure and my doctor probably would not be happy about it, but I was getting stir crazy. Plus you can't trust anyone else to do your train shopping[;)]. Dave

Give me a blank cheque and you'ld be amazed and hopefully impressed[:D]

[dave9999]

Hey Fergie,
I've got a question for you, is the front pilot coupler on your Allegeny installed backwards?
Mine is [%-)]. Dave

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your accident Dave but hang there, you will get better, I know, I went the same thing with broken ribs a few years back, 14 weeks before I could throw a bowling ball without hurten. Oh ya, thats pain. Enjoy the time off though and do some RR planning. BTW, mine was from an accident on my kids Roller Blades, how embarassing. He takes a spill and gets up ok, I take a spill and come up with pain and broken ribs.