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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2019-03-07, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019.THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019. PAGE 11. FEED STORES DUNGANNON 519-529-7951 1-800-665-5675 D. C. Craig Excavating • Excavating • Bulldozing • Septic Systems • Drainage • Snowplowing 519-523-4966 RADAR AUTO PARTS 3878 WELLINGTON ST., MITCHELL 519-348-8485 and 20 KING ST., CLINTON 519-482-3445 235 TURNBERRY ST., BRUSSELS 519-887-9661 “You will find it at CARQUEST” Howson & Howson Ltd. Blyth 519-523-4241 Flour Mill Farm Safety = #1 Priority Seed Crop Protection Fertilizer Grain Elevators Custom Spraying Contact us at 519-523-9624 • 1-800-663-3653 Locations ~ Blyth and Walton STAY SAFE! Experience the DELTA Difference www.deltapower.ca Your full-service John Deere Source for Parts, Sales & Service www.hurontractor.com • Agricultural Equipment • Utility Vehicles • Skid Steers • Sprayers • Pressure Washers • Lawn & Garden Equipment • Exeter 519-235-1115 • Blyth 519-523-4244 • Mitchell 519-347-2251 Tel. 519-529-7212 Fax. 519-529-3277 37452 Glen’s Hill Road, RR 2, Auburn, Ont. N0M 1E0 Snowblowers, Quick-attach Buckets, Sweepers, Woodsplitters, Land Rollers, Stone Windrowers, etc. Website: smythwelding.com Email: info@smythwelding.com HURON FEEDING SYSTEMS JOE SEILI Brussels 519-887-6289 Come in and discover our new product lines Be safe. Stay alert. • Order Buyers • • Slaughter/Feeder Cattle • • Western/Eastern/Local Cattle • • Cattle Appraisals ~ Processing Available • Ross McCall • Matt McCall Office 519-887-9571 Fax 519-887-9171 Take extra care when handling livestock. Play it Safe! Safe, Dependable Trucking Service • Livestock • Bulk Brussels, Ontario 519-887-6122 1-800-667-8399 Brussels 519-887-8253 Office brettandlaura@plantpioneer.com Brett & Laura Fischer Farm Safety is everyone’s responsibility Dave Franken For All Your Concrete Needs! COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL • Foundations • Floor Finishing • Circular Tanks • Sandwich Walls FREE ESTIMATES RR#3 Blyth ~ Fax 519-523-9604 519-523-9971 G. L. HUBBARD LIMITED Growers And Packers Of Quality Rutabagas Farm Safety is everyone’s responsibility Blyth 519-523-4554 Gas Station and Express Mart 39977 Blyth Rd., Blyth 519-523-9090 Open 6 am to 10 pm www.howickmutual.com 1-800-265-3033 Be cautious when working around farm equipment and livestock. Farm Safety is everyone’s responsibility! • Farm • Residential • Commercial • Automobile By Denny Scott – The Citizen When it comes to telling people about farm safety, there are few stories as enlightening as those from people who survived dangerous farm incidents, like East Wawanosh farmer Chris Palmer. In May, 2008, a fraction of a second changed Palmer’s life dramatically. “Eleven years ago I was in a farm accident that mutilated my body,” Palmer said in an e- mail to The Citizen. “It took my off-farm job, my farming career and, what seemed at the time, our future.” At the time of the incident, Palmer had a job in Guelph, requiring him to be up at 5 a.m. to feed livestock, then be on the road by 7 a.m. He would return home around 6:30 p.m., then, after dinner, go out and do more farm work so it wouldn’t pile up for the weekend. That all changed one fateful May evening. Palmer was washing his sprayer and, as a result of taking some short cuts, he ended up losing his leg, suffering other severe injuries, and starting a years-long rehabilitation that would see him undergo multiple medical procedures. Palmer wanted to wash out the sprayer on the farm to prepare for future work. Normally, someone in Palmer’s position would be in the cab, using switches to clean out the sprayer, however to save time, he was pressing solenoids, putting him dangerously close to the power take-off shaft. Palmer had 34 years of farming experience at the time and knew the dangers involved with it as well as the safety measures to take. “Whether we want to face it or not, all of us who live and work on the farm are a heartbeat away from becoming disabled or dying,” he said. “Why? Because we take chances. We take shortcuts and we work excessive hours.” Palmer was doing his third rinse of the sprayer when he felt a tug on his pant leg, akin to a pet rubbing up against him. In an instant, however, it became apparent that wasn’t the case. “You know the saying ‘life is held on by a thread’?” Palmer asked in his e-mail. “Well a couple of threads from my worn-out coveralls almost took my life.” He remembers a “whoosh”, and the next thing he remembers is sitting on the ground, propped up against his tractor opposite the PTO shaft from where he was standing without his clothes. He had done a half-revolution around the PTO shaft, a miracle in itself as those who get pulled for a full revolution don’t often live to tell the tale. Palmer said the incident occurred so quickly, if he had been killed, he likely wouldn’t have felt anything. Palmer began taking stock of his situation, realizing that his left leg had been torn from his body and was still spinning on the PTO shaft. Despite that, he recalls being able to evaluate his situation, realizing his right leg was broken (later to be determined to be broken in two spots) but also verifying his head and torso were still whole. His right arm couldn’t move, and he had broken vertebrae in his back. He was also losing blood at an alarming rate, and would lose eighty per cent of it before transfusions would begin restoring his blood levels. Palmer knew if he stayed where he was, he would have likely passed away as a result of the blood loss and injuries and started to move away from the tractor so his father, Len, would be able to see him and render aid. Palmer prayed for strength, and, with one hand, pulled himself away from the tractor, keeping the stump that used to be his leg up and out of the dirt to prevent infection. Once he moved as far as he could from the tractor, he started calling for help, eventually having to stop due to a lack of energy. At that point, Palmer says he was at peace, knowing that if he did pass, he had done everything possible to try and save his life. That wasn’t his fate, however, as his 79-year- old (at the time) father found him. Despite suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, Len made for the house, telling Palmer’s wife Donna that emergency assistance was needed. He then called 911 as she came out to check on him, then returned to the house. As a trained nurse, she knew she had to stop the bleeding and keep him warm. At that point, the shock of the injury was wearing off Palmer said, and he was in incredible pain. Soon he was in an ambulance, with every bump of the road causing fresh pain on his way to Wingham hospital. From there, an air ambulance took him to London. After multiple medical procedures, including numerous CT scans and the resetting of his broken bones, including ribs, wrist, back, femur and vertebrae in his back, it was time to start rehabilitation. “It was a miracle that I survived,” he said. After four months in the hospital, Palmer was on his way to recovery thanks to his friends and family. “Returning home after four months in the hospital was a shock,” he said. “When you’re in the hospital, surrounded by other patients and amputees, you don’t feel you’re different, but upon returning home, it hit me. I am different. Set apart, so to speak.” Palmer said his reality hit home when he was taking off his shoes after arriving home and remembered that his foot was carbon fibre and rubber. The realization brought on a wave of sorrow. “The only recourse, however, was to either roll over and die or put my slipper on and enter the next phase of my life,” he said. Rehabilitation is, according to Palmer, “a battle between the ears.” “The key to rehab is support and the love of family, friends and neighbours,” he said. “Meeting your goals means becoming normal one step at a time.” He said his experience was that the key to persistence is to celebrate small goals, realize The Citizen Take your time doing farming chores, wear proper footwear, watch for hazards, keep pathways clear, use handrails, and stay alert. 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 413 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 1-877-839-3742 www.mcconvilleomni.ca Remember to put safety first! • FARM • HOME • AUTO • BUSINESS • COTTAGE • COMMERCIAL • RECREATION • MARINE The Municipality of Central Huron 519-482-3997 www.centralhuron.com Royal Canadian Legion Brussels Branch 218 Farm Safety is everyone’s responsibility Todd Wheeler Insurance Inc. AGENT: TODD WHEELER 75 Sports Dr., Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 twheeler@mckillopmutual.com OFFICE: 519-357-0155 • FAX: 226-889-8944Brussels 519-887-6273 • Crop Inputs • Crop Consulting • Crop Protection Products • Seed • Custom Application Brussels Agromart Ltd. www.brusselsagromart.ca Certified General Accountant • Personal & Corporate Tax •Accounting & Bookkeeping •Agricultural Services Seaforth ~ 519-527-1331 Email: wightman@bellnet.ca Brian E. Wightman office@mcgavinfe.ca www.mcgavinequip.com Jacquie Gowing Accounting Accounting, Income Tax & Business Management Personal, Farm, Business & Corporate • Monthly Bookkeeping Services • Electronic Tax Filing jgowing623@gmail.com 519-887-9248 Don't wear loose clothing around equipment or work areas. Local farmer encourages safety after losing leg Chris Palmer, showing the prosthetic leg that he has had for a decade after a farming accident, urges farmers to employ safe farm practices. Continued on page 12 Municipality of Morris-Turnberry 519-887-6137 PO Box 429 Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 519-523-4311