Old guys and ladders

[Heliman]

So, this Friday WAYNO and I were supposed to go shooting and have brunch together. Well, I had to cancel.

The south facing window trim on my manufactured home is in need of replacement. No biggy I thought. I was on a 3rd rung of a 6' ladder doing fine until I reached out a little too far to pull a nail. I felt the ladder tipping and before I could turn, I was headed to the ground which consisted of gravel and a step. Well, I landed elbow first on the gravel and hit my ribs on the small step.

I was in painful agony, mainly internal to the ribs. My son was in the house and I hollered for him. When he arrived I asked him to help me up. Not a chance, as my internals were too painful. So my wife called 911 to get some help. A half hour later I was in the ER with a minor fracture of my left elbow and some internal muscular damage. That was Monday, and I still feel very uncomfortable.

I am 74 years old {almost) and everyone who knows has the same question..... "What the hell are you doing on a ladder!?" I am asking myself the same question!

For all you old guys out there, be careful when around and on ladders!

Dave

 

[WAYNO]

Right after I climb my own ladder, I'll look at this ad...

https://www.firstincare.com/senior-living/convincing-seniors-to-stay-off-ladders-and-stepstools/
I am sorry Dave. I am as guilty as you.

 

[Cholo]

Wow, Dave! I'm glad you're not hurt more than you already are!

I don't "do" ladders past the 3rd step anymore. I just don't have the balance.

 

[Watertender]

I still end up on ladders and catwalks at work. Our gutters are covered so I don't have to worry about cleaning them yearly. I am sure there will be a time when I say no more ladders but I am not there yet

 

[BROKENBEAR]

Glad you are going to make it ..I have helped bury 3 close friends in 2 years from ladder falls ..So I have put leaf guards on the house and gave all my ladders away... and call a handy man for ladder and roof work ..

At 78 I can still put my pants on standing up and fair balance ..but I even gave up my ladder stands year before last ..NO LADDERS folks!!!

Bear

 

[Dave P.]

I think Blume357 is the forums ladder dismount pro. He'll be here soon.
Don't mess with gravity, it's dangerous and will kick your butt!
Humans are ground dwelling 4mph animals and live longest if they
remember that.

 

[woodsy]

I guess my slowly-developed fear of heights may have some benefits. Now, I cannot even do gutter-cleaning unless it is with a power-blower with rigid extension.

 

[nekvermont]

At one time my income depended on me being on Ladders, now it makes me dizzy just looking at one.

 

[Cholo]

↑ I actually get vertigo past the third step. Not kidding!

 

[Armybrat]

Am 78, and quit doing standard step ladders several years ago.
I will do a little kitchen step ladder up to the second rung to hang my flags outside - very carefully, but that’s it.

 

[hittman]

Sorry to hear about your fall and thanks for the reminder.
My wife works in office only 1 day a week.
That day ( last week ) I used our 16 foot ladder to clean the gutters. On the NW corner the ground slopes enough a cement block is needed under 1 leg to keep the ladder straight.

After work she asked me what I did that day. I was stupid enough to tell her.
So she says ….
That HAD to be done TODAY?
You always do that when you’re home alone?
Doesn’t one of our 40 year old neighbor guys owe you a favor?
Don’t you take 2 meds with warnings about getting dizzy?
Are you still a recent cancer survivor?

Oh, I could go on and on. God knows SHE did.

 

[Fox Mike]

Installed Leaf Filter on both my homes in Maryland and on Cape Cod. No more gutter cleaning for me. I just don't have the stability and things seem to get much sorer sooner than when I was younger.

 

[contender]

Heliman,, I'm glad you weren't hurt in a more serious manner. Heal quickly & be careful.

I'll turn 65 in a few months.
I'm still working,, and use ladders all the time doing home repairs to prevent animals from entering, and install exclusion devices. And my helper,, a semi-retired carpenter,, who,, according to Miss Penny, has one very important job. Making sure I don't fall off a ladder.
I'm extra careful when I anchor a ladder,, (especially since we live in the mountains & very little is flat.) And my helper is always steadying my ladder & is a ladder anchor.

You can't be too careful.

 

[hittman]

Yeah, I put gutter guards on too. Roof is a steep 12/12 pitch.
Hard rain shot over the gutters and made basement wet.
Removed gutter guards, no more water in basement.

 

[turd]

Well, I'm ONLY 71, but I am hiring a company to paint my house this summer. The back is 1.5 story, and I no longer can stand on a ladder for any length of time. No way could I paint this place. Don't want to pay for it, but it may be the last time if done right, soooooooo.

 

[wolfsong]

Godspeed in your healing, my friend.

When part of my roof peeled back during one of the past winter storms, I crawled up the ladder to begin what repairs I could. The view from up there convinced me to call the cavalry, and once they arrived my participation was relegated to passing up tools and cheering them on. From ground level, of course. I did hold the ladder steady for them when they were finished...

This weekend we have a cherry picker leased to begin repairs on the hay barn. Even the younger cavalry has it's limitations...

 

[any ruger]

Y ladder has one step ground level.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

Dave I’m so sorry you have to go through this, but glad you weren’t hurt any worse. I can certainly relate, my balance isn’t even good walking through the house. I don’t want to even get on a step ladder to change a light bulb. One step is my limit if someone is around to steady me.
Take care of yourself and learn from your decisions that cause pain.
I miss you guys.

 

[Richle]

So, this Friday WAYNO and I were supposed to go shooting and have brunch together. Well, I had to cancel.

The south facing window trim on my manufactured home is in need of replacement. No biggy I thought. I was on a 3rd rung of a 6' ladder doing fine until I reached out a little too far to pull a nail. I felt the ladder tipping and before I could turn, I was headed to the ground which consisted of gravel and a step. Well, I landed elbow first on the gravel and hit my ribs on the small step.

I was in painful agony, mainly internal to the ribs. My son was in the house and I hollered for him. When he arrived I asked him to help me up. Not a chance, as my internals were too painful. So my wife called 911 to get some help. A half hour later I was in the ER with a minor fracture of my left elbow and some internal muscular damage. That was Monday, and I still feel very uncomfortable.

I am 74 years old {almost) and everyone who knows has the same question..... "What the hell are you doing on a ladder!?" I am asking myself the same question!

For all you old guys out there, be careful when around and on ladders!

Dave

I know the feeling, Dave. I'll be 80 in a few weeks and ladders are definitely a no-no. A couple yrs ago I got on my single story roof and when it came to getting back down, I froze up and took me a long time to talk myself down. Never again. I wish you a full and speedy recovery. First time on here. I just happen to run across this forum.
.

 

[Rat76]

I'm 72, about 10 years ago I bought one of these.

Pretty handy actually. A mite heavy tho.

 

[Mobuck]

Sorry to hear of your fall BUT. If your Son was 'in the house', why wasn't HE helping or at very least holding the ladder.

 

[Hvymax]

What are you going to do. Crap ain't going to do itself!!! Be careful out there. You're old enough to know better than getting stupid on things like ladders not that most of us have enough sense not to. Hopefully my ER trips will continue to get less frequent.

 

[Johnnu2]

My ladders "disappeared" sometime during my early 60's...... My body is actually in good shape these days, it's my brain that is subject to old age foolishness...
J.

 

[harley08]

Dave, I was working on my house and tried to move the ladder over about a foot while still on it. Nope! the latter slid down while I was still on it, I put my hand out to stop the fall, thinking the soil was soft, wrong, the soil was a lot of clay and dirt, I broke my wrist and ended up in a cast for weeks.
Another Dave

 

[vito]

I feel your pain. I turn 80 next week, and about 2 years ago I gave my extension ladders to one of my sons. I decided that if anything requires being up on a ladder, like gutter cleaning, I'll pay someone else to do it for me. But my home has very high ceilings, ranging from 12 to 18 feet in spots, with recessed lighting in several rooms. I have a 10 foot step ladder that I still feel okay using and while its heavy and bulky I can still get it from the garage into the house and to where I need it. As to smaller step ladders, I have to use a 3 step step ladder all the time to get things in and out of high kitchen cabinets. If I had to give up that 10 foot and 3 step step ladders I would have to sell the house and find another place to live. I'm not quite ready for that yet.

 

[Ranger]

I never really knew her or met her; but a widow lady up the road a ways was reportedly still climbing her TV antennae to get on her roof and clean her gutters well into her 90s. I knew her nephew. He was several years older than me. It seems like he had tried numerous times to talk into letting him or someone else do it...

She died several years ago and left their farm to several different charitable causes. They now have a college campus and a recreational facility and other stuff named after her and her husband.

 

[ronto]

Even when I was young I didn't like being on a ladder or being in a closed up space. Now I stay away from ladders and the crawl space. I hope you heal up soon and be careful.

 

[larry8]

ladders,,,, When I was a kid of 14 I had to paint our house. That meant going up 30 feet on a rickety wooden ladder to paint the eves. Didn't think anything about it then. Now Im 80 and needed to hire a painter to paint the eve on my home thats about 28 feet up there. I talked to our local handyman and he had just fell off a ladder and broke his ankle. He said he will never go up on a ladder again. But I did find a younger guy to do it.

 

[Topfueler1]

Next time get someone younger to do it. You can stay at the bottom of the ladder and hold it still for them. { never lean over to far I get back down and move the ladder over. I don't go up real high. I get someone else for that. Glad your injuries were not any worse. Get well and be safe!

 

[Randyzzz]

Ladders are evil. Period. As a kid I has absolutely no fear of heights- to the point of stupidity. But as I aged, yes, the fear of heights crept in.

When I was in my 50’s, I was helping frame a second story addition. I was walking the top plate of the first story, about 8’ or so up. The phone, on the ground, started to ring. The 8’ ladder was what we used to get up there…I tested the ladder a couple of times before I put my full weight on it. It promptly “squirted out and down onto the concrete I went. Dislocated shoulder, and tore my rotator cuff and hairline femur fracture. I polled the shoulder back in- the adrenaline was still pumping and everything felt numb. Ended up going to ER and they saw the torn cuff and the fracture. I was between jobs, no insurance, and my friend’s insurance would only cover the ER visit. So, I let it heal on its own. I am blessed that my wife is the office manager at a Physical Therapy clinic, so I did get it worked on and after about a year the pain went away. I recovered to about 80% and that’s as good as it got. Luckily it’s my left/support hand.

God was watching out for me that day, however. I fell to the right…if I had fallen to the left, there were a bunch of pieces of thick flat strap sticking up out of the concrete. They were for post bases for a covered eve and walkway. That probably would have killed me.

So…at 62 I will get up on an 8’ ladder, with reservations. But no extension ladders. I tried a month ago- needed to hang a light in the barn. I got up 10’ and said “Nope. Not happening.” Like I said- ladders are evil.

Dave- heal up quickly, and leave those ladders to the kids.