History, Politics And Current Affairs

So, last night, while I was waiting to play in a horseshoe match for my lake, my son asked me if he could climb a tree. Since he normally does that, I said sure, not realizing that he was wearing crocs, of all things.

About 5 minutes later, from above, came the crack of a branch breaking, followed by a couple of thuds, and then I saw my son in mid air, about 15 feet above the ground. He came to rest on his right side.

Fortunately, it was right close to the opposing team's bench, and one of their players is a cop in my town, and another one is an EMT. For unrelated reasons, another four or five EMTs were in the parking lot. They were treating him almost before he stopped bouncing. They were doing concussion protocols and putting a cervical collar on him within a minute, maybe less, of him hitting the ground. The ambulance was there within about 7 minutes, and as soon as they got there, I went and picked up my wife so she could ride to the hospital with him.

Long story short, he'll be ok eventually, with no permanent harm. However his temporary harm is fairly extensive.

Fractured the L2 vertebrae (cracked a piece of the barrel off, and both the prongs that come out the sides.)
Fractured the front right side of his pelvis
Twisted ankle
Twisted elbow
various bruises, contusions, scrapes and cuts

The various trauma docs at the hospital said there's no internal organ damage, and the spine doc says no neurological issues either. So the treatment is a brace for the vertebrae fracture and "let it heal" for the pelvic fracture. Apparently, the pelvic fracture is very minor, and if he hadn't complained about it hurting, they would likely have not caught it. So in the long term, he'll be ok, and can go back to all his activities in 6 to 8 weeks.

Now for the funny bits....

I knew he would be ok, because he was making really bad jokes while lying on the ground. And he asked me to grab the branch that had broken under his weight so we could burn it next time we had a fire.

Also, when the cop and EMT were doing the concussion protocols, they asked him the standard questions. Since he had just fallen 20 or 25 feet out of a tree, he was, understandably, I think, disinclined to answer their questions and just groaned and said "DAD! you answer them". He was displeased when I told him they were checking for concussion and he had to be the one who answered, but he did.

While on the way to the hospital, the EMT in the ambulance asked if they could do anything for him and he asked if they could play some soothing music. They asked what he wanted to hear, and he said "Pink Fluffy Rainbow Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows" which is apparently this weeks fad for 13 year olds. (in case anyone wishes to inflict this upon themselves... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRC4Vk6kisY I don't recommend it.) They responded with "Give us a minute to find it. Until then, here's a little something for you" and played this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lWJXDG2i0A He started laughing and said "Don't make me laugh, it hurts!" and then kept laughing.

Its good to know the rescue squad has a sense of humor. They did, in fact, find the song he requested and played it.

Belushi TD

Sorry to hear that, but sounds like he'll be fine and have a fun story to tell.

Unfortunate that he and you had to experience that, but great that there’s no permanent damage done. If something dramatic like that is going to happen that’s where you want to end up. Hopefully he’ll learn a bit of a lesson from it as well so that you can dodge similar events in the future.

A bouncing baby boy...bounce check good! Glad he'll be ok.

Kids are super resilient. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that as long as all the pieces are in the same room they’ll be good as new.

It’s also to your son’s credit that he was able to keep up his spirit and be brave enough to banter with EMS despite what was probably a lot of pain. That ability to function despite great pain will serve him well.

Obviously it was terrifying at the time, but you’ve clearly done a good job of preparing your kid to handle negative consequences of his actions - which is both to your credit and will also serve him well.

So, especially since everything will be ok in time, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Oddly enough, it was not terrifyling. It was "WHat the hell did that little bugger do now?" Once he stopped bouncing I ran up to him, but was unable to talk to him because the cops and EMTs had already started their cadence.

It certainly helped to know that the EMTs and the Cop were on point as soon as he fell.

I know very few people here, if any, know my local cops and EMTs, but they were fantastic and, had he been in worse shape, would have been instrumental in keeping the follow up damage to a minimum.

Belushit TD

First and foremost, glad to hear that your 'descendant' (in both senses) is relatively free of serious and long term injury. All the best for the recovery, both for the lad and the parents.

Secondly, whilst under treatment, see if they can do anything about the taste in music issue, specifically the Unicorn stuff.

Thirdly, in addition to burning the branch, consider immolating the crocs, both for the sake of safety and that of public decency.

Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Fri Jul 18, 2025 2:33 am First and foremost, glad to hear that your 'descendant' (in both senses) is relatively free of serious and long term injury. All the best for the recovery, both for the lad and the parents.

Secondly, whilst under treatment, see if they can do anything about the taste in music issue, specifically the Unicorn stuff.

Thirdly, in addition to burning the branch, consider immolating the crocs, both for the sake of safety and that of public decency.

SIR!!!! What the actual fuck?!!!!!

Your pun was both wonderful and hilarious. I plan on submitting it to both my son and my wife tomorrow.

Every time I've tried to influence the younger gerenration vis a vis music, its turned out .... Poorly.

However, thanks for the advice.

Belushi TD

At the very least, Master Teenager will have a fulsome topic for any written assignment regarding “What I did in my Summer Break”.

Fairly short essay. "What I did on the break. Broke."

Well of course he can legitimately claim to have been stone cold sober when out of his tree.

Given some of the things that have come about lately, I am so VERY glad that your son is on the mend! My best wishes for a swift and full recovery!

First, so glad he's okay-ish.

Second, the lecture on appropriate wear for going in harm's way.

Third, he needs to qualify on a proper 'Climbing Wall' ...

Fourth, 'Free Climbing' is off the menu until further notice, be it to recover kitty or kite.

I was the least agile / nimble / brave of our clan, but I always got the 'weird' jobs because I was so 'effin' careful...

my dad sent his sister (Aunty Maxine) along the roof to lay his aerial for his radio.

However this is a tale I've rarely told...

So ...walking in Chitwin National Park. The ranger hears a rhino coming along the track, and signs for everyone to climb a tree. We climb. He points to me and says "Up up". I replied that's how high I can get. I climb a bit higher, and fall out of the tree directly in the path of Mrs Rhino and child. In the next 4 seconds I then got so far up the tree that I couldn't climb down (well obviously I did but...)

My son is home and resting (sorta) comfortably. He's to wear a back brace when he's not in bed. Can't twist. However, all the medical people beleive he will make a complete recovery. He has been ludicrously lucky with this incident, and we are appropriately thankful.

We're also thankful that one of our friends set up something called a "Dinner Train". Apparently, lots of our friends and neighbors are going to be bringing us dinner for the next couple weeks. I am stunned by people's generosity.

Anyway, thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. And the puns. The whole family is particularly amused by Simon's "Decendant" pun.

Belushi TD

thank God nothing major/lasting.

Best of luck and prayers for quick speedy recovery.