Thursday 26 July 2012

Well it’s been a helluva week!

The week started out normally enough. I was playing golf with some friends a few miles east of here when we were called off the course due to electrical storms in the area. So not wanting to waste a perfectly good afternoon we headed over to the Ashton Brew Pub (their Harvest Brown is delicious!) for a pint or two. Then the storm hit – golf-ball sized hail and winds that shook the old mill building.
After an hour or so it subsided enough to get in the car and head home, to be met by a roadblock set up by the police, blocking the only access into our community. With power lines and trees down all over the road, no one was getting in (or out) for the next 3 hours. Reports were of major storm damage and possible tornado activity (very rare in these parts). Of course we were worried.

When we finally did get through, here’s what greeted us as we came up our roadway.

Storm for web (13)The fire department had been in and cut a path down our road as they were checking residents.

Storm for web (7)Under all those trees on the right is where we normally park our cars.

Storm for web (9) Garage took some abuse, but bikes and tools inside are all okay, although a bit wet from the rain coming in through the roof.

Storm for web (10)Deck furniture rearranged somewhat.

Storm for web (11)
Buried under those trees is what was our vegetable garden. So far I’ve salvaged 6 beans and 2 cucumbers. We might yet get a couple of hardy tomatoes.

Fortunately damage to the house was limited to a broken window and some siding damage, but the garage didn’t fare so well with 2 trees on (and in) it. The bikes were okay though. (Whew!)

The next day, about 1/2 hour into what promises to be a months-long clean-up  I managed to do something stupid and fell, about 6 feet, landing on my back on a log. An ambulance trip into town followed (a first for me) along with a day spent in emergency while they determined that the only(!) problem I had was that I had broken 5 ribs (another first).

XRaysI know, I can’t make any sense of these things either, but I am assured that there are 5 fractures in there somewhere.

So now I’m sitting here listening to the generator going (probably won’t have power back on before the weekend), using my cell phone for internet access (even longer before we get wireless back), looking at a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks before I can ride again, at least a month before I can golf again, and having to pay someone else to clean up the mess because I did something dumb.
And to top it all off, the insurance company is giving me grief over some of the claim.
Can we please go back to Monday and start over?

P.S. The storm hit hard over a very large area and many homes and outbuildings were totally destroyed. And even though it had all the makings of a true disaster there was no loss of life, and no injuries reported. So while I chew pain killers by the handful and look out over a sea of destruction I have to think of how much worse it could have been and how truly lucky all of us were.

22 comments:

  1. Damn dude- sucks to be you this week. may your ribs and trees heal quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks No Name. We'll all heal; it'll just take time. This is also when you find out who your friends are - they're the ones with chainsaws who show up uninvited to clear your drive for you.

      Delete
  2. So glad you are all okay - a garden will grow next year, a garage can be repaired. I've been watching the weather channel as I head east and it hasn't been pretty.
    Broken ribs only hurt when ... you laugh, sneeze, cough, stand up, sit down, lie down, get up or try to roll over (and I only had 2 broken). I know it sounds crazy, but my docs told me to drink coffee with the pain killers, seems the caffine does something to help the effect (either that or you don't need sleep and therefore don't need to sit down, lie down, get up or roll over cause you're just running around with a caffine buzz the whole time), but lord help you if you get a cold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VStar Lady - Thanks. You pretty well summed it up. But I've found that with enough narcotics in the system, augmented by a few ounces of Jack Daniels, I can actually feel pretty good. :) Haven't tried the coffee yet - tomorrow perhaps.

      Delete
  3. Happy that the outcome of the fall wasn't worse and having neighbors like that is a blessing for sure. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AZHD - Thank you for the good wishes. These types of occurrences seem to always bring out the best of country living where you have to depend on neighbours and not the "authorities" for help.

      Delete
  4. Boy, I really do understand. I've been around this kind of weather all my life. Several years ago a tornado destroyed the greenhouse/garden center where I worked. I had just left for the day and the storm (very unusual for up here) took out their 6 greenhouses, the owner's house, two cars, most of the trees, all the out buildings, 3 huge propane tanks, but left plants, paper napkins and woven baskets.

    No one was hurt, but psychologically many people were deeply damaged. I helped to clean up the place and it's a terrible thing to deal with.

    I'm glad your house was not damaged much. Sorry you didn't fare as well. Best wishes, heal well. Living in the woods sometimes is just a pain...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the note Martha. Likewise this seemed very selective - a large maple was blown over but the plastic chairs at its base were untouched. Go figure.
      And while living in the woods is a pain sometimes, being able to have dinner on the deck in absolute silence but for the loons calling while watching the sun set over the lake more than makes up for it.

      Delete
  5. Canajun, what a mess! The silver lining is that the house is OK. Man that rib cage is going to ache before it gets better. You're lucky it wasn't a much worse outcome. Time to catch up on some reading. Start with the damn insurance policy :) then quickly move on to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That will pass some time and put your personal disaster into perspective. When you're done with that, it might just be the right time for a ride. Look at it this way, the law of averages is now strongly in your favor!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks David. You're right; I'd rather be dealing with a flattened forest than a flattened house like some in the area are. It's just very frustrating seeing the amount of work to be done and not being able to do much of anything except lend moral support. But that'll change in a week or so I expect (hope!).

      Delete
  6. Oh, my! What a mess. Glad nobody got hurt during the storm. Sorry to hear about the little accident. Broken ribs hurt good, and you are not supposed to do any hard work. Take it easy, eh?! And be better soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sonja. I'm trying really hard to be a good patient and take it easy but it's hard to sit still with a yard that looks like it's been clearcut.

      Delete
  7. Geez, terrible mess. Hope you heal up quickly. My hub broke 2 ribs back in the spring & was in agony for quite awhile and they still hurt. I don't think I would even know where to start looking at all of the mess. Glad your bike came out unscathed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dar. Yup, they sure hurt! But it's only been a week and I'm seeing some small progress so I'm hopeful to be back to near-normal before too, too long. And the mess will just have to wait. :(

      Delete
  8. Well that SUCKS! Wishing you the best speedy recovery ever! Hope ends well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr. M, thanks for that. It will all end well - in time. Doc says recovery proceeding well (although with a revised count of 7 ribs broken, not 5). Meantime no golf and no riding for a few weeks. :-(

      Delete
  9. Canajun:

    sorry I'm late. I was away, then when I got back we had no phone service, it was repaired but a splitter was not installed correctly and our fax machine blew out the internet so I am behind in my readings.

    my mere hiccup is nothing as compared to you. Heal and don't laugh, roll over or cough. It could have been worse and I hope your insurance company sees it from your perspective.

    7 ribs . . . OUCH !

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bob. It's been a rough couple of weeks, that's for sure. But every day feels a bit better than the last so progress is being made. Still can't laugh or cough though.......

      Delete
  10. There is a brite side to your fall, there might have been a broken limb sticking out of that log. I hate all your going through and luck was you weren't there when the storm actually hit and were safe-er.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WooleyBugger - Sorry I'm late posting your comment. For some reason it went to moderation and I don't check very often. Anyway, thanks for the comment. You're right, it could have been worse. Now, a couple of months later, aside from some lagging aches and pains it's mostly a bad memory.

      Delete
  11. oh shit that hurts! I'm sorry canajun, i know that pain too, holy moly. seems we were both hurt about the same time... glad to see/hear they you're doing better! on to a better 2013 with more ride time! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ms. M - Again I'm apologizing for a late response because I didn't check my moderation file. But thank you for your kind thoughts. It is getting better every day but, as I'm sure you know, it can be a slow process. But I'm back doing everything I was before so I can't complain. Well actually I can because my golf swing went right out the window but that just gives me something to work on next spring.

      Delete

Please feel free to comment, but any comments with commercial links will be deleted. You have been warned.