HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1988-07-20, Page 28Page 10A
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i�'�Farm accident victims know first -
11y Yvonne Reynolds
This year's Farm Safety Week
from 7uly 25 to July 31 once again
places greatest emphasis on making
fanners aware that eternal vigilance
is the price of safety. Safety rules
should be practiced every day of the
week, and every week of thc year.
The most vehement advocates of
farm safety arc those who have
themselves been accident victims.
Nothing is as effective as personal
testimony. • Three men who have
been injured on the farm told their
stories at a media day organized by
the Huron County Farm Safety As-
sociation at Hill and Hill Farms,
Varna.
Neil Stapleton, RR2 Auburn,
held everyone's attention as he re-
lated why he now walks with a
cane. Stapleton's life changed irrev-
ocably on February 3,1987.
Needing hay for his cow -calf op-
eration, Stapleton had speared a
round bale on a mild day winter
day. The spear only penetrated two
feet. Instead of trying again, Sta-
pleton lifted the bale and started to
back up the. tractor. That was mis
take number one.
Mistake number two had hap-
pened the previous week. Stapleton
had neglected to replace the tire
chain that had come off -one of the
tractor wheels. The tractor balked
at a little ridge of snow, so Staple-
ton started. to rock the machine
from reverse into third and back
again. Ile paid no attention to the
balcpoiscd over hisitead._ That was
mistake number three.
The bale came, off the spear, hit
Stapleton in the centre of his back,
and rolled away. The recollection
of the pain that hit suddenly is
burned forever into Stapleton's
memory. He lay bent over the
steering wheel, unable to move,
until discovered by his wife, who
luckily had been nearby checking
the calves.
Stapleton praised the expertise of
the ambulance crew, on the scene in
CRIPPLED - Neil Stapleton
stands beside a round ball) similar
to one that injured him. He rolled up
his pant hags to show his braces.
30 minutes. They ascertained that
hc could not move his feet, but
could move his knees, then encased
him in a body mold that stabilized
him from neck to tailbone. Neigh-
bours and medics worked together
to lift him off the tractor and into
thc ambulance.
In London, doctors discovered that
one of his lower vertebrae was
smashed to pieces. Another was
broken. Stapleton also had internal
injuries which still plague him.
A week later, Stapleton developed
pneumonia. Just as an aside, he
said hc needled his' sick steers im-
, mediately, and couldn't understand
why a human had to wait two days
for treatment until a sputum sample
had been cultivated'
After 90 days of bed rest, Staple-
ton had to learn how to walk all
over again. Some nerves to his
lower body were permanently dam-
aged, and he is missing some mus-
cle function in his lower back and
legs. Stapleton now wears braces
on both Legs. They also support
his feet and keep them from droop-
ing, as he has no feeling in them.
Stapleton can no longer do any'
job that requires him to stand and
use both hands. However, he is
thankful that he is a farm'accideilt
victim and not a fatality. He had
some advice for others.
"Never be in too much of a hur-
1
ry. It wasn't the equipment that
failed, but its use", he said , noting
that failing to take a few minutes
to do things properly had cost him
six months in hospital and perma-
nent disability. -
Stapleton also had advice for
neighbours of farm had
vic-
tims. Hc said some had said "Call
me if you need help", but others
took the initiative, saw what had
to be done, and did it. Within days
of the accident, his neighbours had
brought the remaining bales in
from' the field.
"When people are struggling
away, they don't phone, but -they
sure appreciate fellows coming to
help", Stapleton'concluded.
* * *
Don MacGregor was 19 the day
he climbed into a silo with two._
good legs, and was lowered down
with one mangled so badly ithad
to be amputated above the knee.
Coincidentally, MacGregor's ac-
cident also happened in the month
of February, in 1972. He was
working for a farmer near London,
and climbed into the silo to free
the silo unloader which had dug
into the corn while his employer
stayed on the ground to operate the
controls.
"I figured . I was as careful as
could be. 1 was pushing on the
unloader when I slipped in the
corn. I couldn't believe it. Aly leg
had cone through- a hole in the
guard. I couldn't reach the safety
switch. I knew 1 was in trouble",
MacGregor recall.
only in the ma -
Although he wased
chine 10 minutes before help ar-
rived, it seemed like an eternity be-
fore an OPP officer crawled in
beside him.
"1 was never so happy to see a
man in a blue hat'", he remarked.
TALKING SAFETY - Accident victim Don McGregor (left), Huron Farm Safety Association secretary Don
Young, MC John Underwood and John Rau, who had a close call with manure gas, took part in a Media Day to pro-
mote farm safety.
Mle
The machinery was dismantled;
MacGregor was freed, his legs
strapped together, he was let down
from the silo with a rope around
his waist and taken to St. Joseph's
Hospital, 2Q minutes away. Ile re-
members thinking on the ambu-
lance ride that he was "too young
to be hurt this bad".
• - With the benefit of hindsight,
MacGregor said the accident could
have been avoided if an hour had
been taken to shut off the machin-.
cry and free the unloader. The
equipment had "more than adequate
.safety featuresbuilt in".
MacGrcgor had some words -of
wisdom, learned' the hard way.
Noting that farmers arc always
pushed for time, and every job has
a shortcut, he advised starting jobs
as early as possible. Another pre-
caution is to try and have someone
around instead of trying to run trac-
tor, baler and wagon by oneself, for
example. Someone else should al-
ways be told where you plan to
work, and what you plan to do.
MacGregor stressed the impor-
tance of ensuring the employees ;tic
covered by Workmen's Compensa-
tion. If someone is hired to help
with cattle, or -in. the bush, or to
cut the lawn, and that person is in -
Please turn to page 11 A
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