It was a very humid, hot day and I was feeling really tired.
I went around the side of the house and saw the big hedge that my wife’s been asking me to cut for… so long.
I had ladders set too far apart and I had a plank that I thought that would be alright to walk on.
The ladders gave way and I crashed to the ground about two metres; two and a half metres.
I hit my head on the windowsill on the way down. I ended up breaking four ribs, broke my C6 [vertebrae] and fractured five vertebrae.
It’s enough to make you feel depressed because I can’t do anything. I struggle to mow the lawns. I’ve got to a point where I feel useless. I’ve had my teary moments where [I’ve thought] ‘what’s the use of being around, I can’t do anything’.
That’s really hard for men that have done their own work all of their lives. It’s so hard to let go and pay for someone to come in and do it or ask someone to do it.
I would say to anyone of 50 up: ‘think twice about going up a ladder’.
If you or someone that you care about needs to use a ladder, it’s unlikely you’ll plan to fall, but you can definitely plan not to fall.
It’s the same old story; it’s the preparation that saves you.