Old guys and ladders

[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.

 

[WAYNO]

What is tough for many of us... In my work, I lived on ladders. Then one day I'm not supposed to crawl up on them any more. It's difficult to place a date on when that should be. My knees are both trashed. My replaced knee is my best knee, so when I go down a ladder I have to remember which leg to lead with. If I don't, my worst leg will buckle without notice.

Dave, get well so we can go shooting. We are falling behind.

 

[freakindawgen]

Uncle decided to work on the cabin on the summer property. Got a call he fell off the ladder and it landed on his leg. Was giving up and sat in his overstuffed chair outside and popped a beer. That's where we found him. Leg had a clot that broke loose and closed that deal.

 

[Pathfinder36]

Elder folks reportedly have more serious injuries from falls than any other cause. Two years ago I lost a close friend from a fall from a stepladder into a flower bed. He was on the 2 step of a new 6 ft step ladder. EMTs treated him at the site but then took him to the hospital when he complained of intense shoulder pain. In the ER he had an X-ray which apparently failed to show any fractures. He was put in right arm sling and released. He did two days later.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I have two friends who have had serious falls from ladders. One broke both of his ankles, the other looked like he’d been best with bats. I don’t need that.

 

[pogomo]

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 am 75 y.o. I just paid 2 fellas today to clean gutters around my shop and part if the house. I also paid for tree trimming after an earlier ice storm this year. I just don't feel as sure of myself as I used to. I live with lower back issues that require a lot of energy. And I just don't seem as sure about how long i can last when climbing or stretching. Anybody else in this boat?
Be safe guys.

 

[blume357]

tell me about it...

 

[Dave P.]

What really makes Blume's video is the lack of swearing on the ride down and that little wheeze or strangled goat sound at the end.

 

[Ka6otm]

A couple of years ago the War Department (Mrs. Ka6otm) informed me that my ladder climbing days were over. She'd pay someone else to do it as we can easily afford it.

 

[RugerForMe]

Glad you weren't hurt any worse.
As home owners ladders are a necessary evil, I'm 61, over weight, arthritis in my neck, lower back, and knees. And looking at a knee replacement in the near future. I added a stabilizer to my extension ladder, and always make sure I have someone spotting me when I'm using my ladders. I have no fear of heights but I hate ladders.
Hope you heal fast