Women Arborist Injured at New York Botanical garden?

Adkpk said:
Well that certainly passes for a bad day. Glad to hear your ok. What where the extent of the injuries (recently falling from 15' myself), I ask? There is a recent thread on here about "bald faced hornet" stings. Been there and I think they are the worst sting of all bees. It's a bit like being hit with something.

Being a fellow NYer and climber it would be nice to meet you someday. Bob

Why was the spruce needing to be climbed? Must have been sticky at this time of year.

Wishing for a speedy recovery.
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Thank you! Yes these Hornets were awful, I have actually never been stung in my life before that day. It was enough to stun you temporarily. By the time they were covering me I really thought I was going to die right there in the tree.

We were climbing the row of trees there because there was an upcoming donor party and they didn't want any unaesthetic deadwood to be silhouetted.

Actually the same morning my co-worker was climbing and found an active yellow-jacket nest. He was lucky to have seen them before he began pruning because he has a deadly allergy to them. A very bad year for bees!

I happy to be alive and would be happy to meet you as well. I'm sorry to hear about your fall, hope your doing well?
 
Wow Rachel, you're a tough one! Hoping and praying for a quick recovery for you.

One thing I miss about my ol' Blakes Hitch is that I didn't have the tendency to burn my hands on fast descents like I do with VTs, Michoacan, Distel, etc. due to the skinnier knots. Never considered it could even play a part the way it did for you though.

So you didn't run out of line or anything but rather became unresponsive after your initial descent, at least in the eyes of your coworker/groundie, at which point they determined the best route was to assist you in the remainder of the way down. Is that about right? Do you think things would've played out any differently if you were climbing DdRT?


EDIT: Sorry, reading the other posts now. No need to answer what you've already answered :)
 
TreeLogic said:
Wow Rachel, you're a tough one! Hoping and praying for a quick recovery for you.

One thing I miss about my ol' Blakes Hitch is that I didn't have the tendency to burn my hands on fast descents like I do with VTs, Michoacan, Distel, etc. due to the skinnier knots. Never considered it could even play a part the way it did for you though.

So you didn't run out of line or anything but rather became unresponsive after your initial descent, at least in the eyes of your coworker/groundie, at which point they determined the best route was to assist you in the remainder of the way down. Is that about right? Do you think things would've played out any differently if you were climbing DdRT?


EDIT: Sorry, reading the other posts now. No need to answer what you've already answered :)
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It certainly through me off my mojo. I never ran out of climbing line, I was never unresponsive, I was never unconscious, I was never immobilized. From what I have been told the second I called from them to call 911, he began setting up the aerial rescue. He should have waited until I became unresponsive but I believe was scared and trying to help me.

Almost daily I climb with a lowerable SRT system, typically with the ART Snake anchor, the petzel ID (or a figure-8 with a 'hard-lock') and I had taught my coworkers how to use these lowerable systems. I believe from those talks about the benefits of them he assumed this to be the best way to get me down. Although based off of present Aerial rescue training he technically should have remained calm and waited for the EMTs. There has been a lapse in aerial rescue training which I was actively discussing with my supervisors.

I believe that if I had been climbing double rope the situation would have been very different. This has definitely crossed my mind many times and may impact my climbing techniques when I return to work.
I have been warned by the Neurosurgeons that if I fall again there is no telling how the structure in my spine will react...

We cant let that fear dictate how we choose to live though,
Rachel
 
As awesome as SRT is, considering the speed of ascent, the redirects with no friction, and many other conveniences, I have honestly never felt as safe as I did with DdRT. The fact that with DdRT I can hold my position with one hand, or body thrust a little to take my weight off the knot, both play a part in that notion.

If something were to slip on SRT, I might not be able to stop the descent with my hands. But DdRT I've done it many times. Food for thought.

Thanks for talking with us. You now have more likes than messages. I think that may be a first :)
 
Great news about your recovery success!

Your voice to raise awareness should be heard by everyone who risks harm while suspended on a rope.

You mentioned a method that should be considered by all SRT settings.

Should the climber the responsibility to instruct the ground crew how to rescue you from the ground? I would take great relief in knowing that in case of emergency someone can save me and cause to be concerned if they fail the test. Then would you climb anyway? Tuff questions but you dodge a bullet and am so happy that you are so willing to share. Stay Safe. Dan
 
During the evolution of my SRT system I kept refining parts to make it safer and easier than DdRT. Having a trunk wrap or basal anchor with some sort of component for a lower/rescue makes SRT FAR superior to DdRT...IMnot-soHO :)

I'm still having a hard time understanding how the rescue was done and why Rachel fell/was dropped. It might have been the system or the rescuers...plenty of time to get back to the root cause after the dust settles.

For discussion's sake let's put the climber/Rachel in a DdRT system. Now run the scenario. What sort of rescue or escape would be available? I would always like to have the option of a ground lower available to me or my co-workers. Not having one always felt like walking into a dead-end alley...trapped.
 
Rachel,

Your candor, open-mindedness, willingness to share and forthright manor are a credit to you, both personally and professionally. Thank you for all. Heal well and quickly.

As always, if there is anything that can be done to help, ease your recovery, provide insight or what ever you require, ask.

Tony
 
R4chel said:
Thank you! Yes these Hornets were awful, I have actually never been stung in my life before that day. It was enough to stun you temporarily. By the time they were covering me I really thought I was going to die right there in the tree.

Actually the same morning my co-worker was climbing and found an active yellow-jacket nest. He was lucky to have seen them before he began pruning because he has a deadly allergy to them. A very bad year for bees!
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"I have just been thinking, and I have come to a very important decision. These are the wrong sort of bees." - A. A. Milne

Rachel, sorry to hear about your shattered spine, but I guess it could have been worse. Lucky your still with us!

I'll say it again - you really are living up to your reputation of being very intelligent about the profession.
John_KAYS said:
Sawdust said:
Very driven and intelligent about the profession.
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And I feel the same way as Tony, you are truly dealing with this spectacularly.

I hope the pain is manageable and that it doesn't keep you out of the trees for too long.

- John
 
Hi Rachel,
First, glad to hear you'll be walking and climbing again!! Yikes, that's a scary thing you've been going through. We met briefly at the NE comp; I was the in tree staging tech on the work climb. Thank you for speaking about your experience and sharing your insights. I feel the same as Tony, too. When you need some positive vibes, shout out to this community. No one else would know the struggle and the passion to get back into trees. Stay strong, Rebecca
 
Good to hear you'll recover to be able to climb again. Being able to share the experience and the outcome is invaluable to the rest of the industry.

When you get together with Bob, let me know, I'll join you. We can compare notes on falling from heights.
 
treehumper said:
Good to hear you'll recover to be able to climb again. Being able to share the experience and the outcome is invaluable to the rest of the industry.

When you get together with Bob, let me know, I'll join you. We can compare notes on falling from heights.
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A peculiar club, that one!

Tony
 
A club I hope I never get invited to Tony.

I am glad to hear you will be climbing again Rachel. Whenever the doctors say it's okay you might want to ride in a bucket and visit some bees to just keep the mental gremlins away.

On a much better note....looking at your icon, I can certainly see why anything with a beating heart would be attracted to you ;)
 
Ah yes, the donors. lol

I am fine. Thanks http://www.treebuzz.com/forum/threads/adkpk-down-but-not-out.28011/

I back up what Monkey love is on to about mental gremlins.

I also agree with tree humper about getting together, I hope you don't mind if he is from NJ. lol I would like to meet at one of the gardens. Is it Bronx or Brooklyn that you work at. I am assuming it's Bronx seeing you didn't mention a correction of the title of the thread. Another way to meet would be to come to work with me someday (in NJ) and that way we could stop and meet Rob (treehumper) on the way home. Or, the goodaking gtg in Conn. in Jan, that is if he is having one this year but I think it's a pretty sure bet.
 
In my defense, I'm a transplant in NJ.

The gardens would be a cool spot to meet. I'm much more mobile now and may be even able to drive once I find a shoe big enough to accommodate the swelling.
 
Adkpk and treehumper your both very sweet, but it will be a long time before I get to have adventures like that.
:( As soon as I can though, I'll be attempting to travel anywhere to get out of the house.

Yes, my boyfriend and I are currently living in the Bronx. We both are originally from metro Detroit though.

Know what you mean about the mental gremlins, its already been surfacing a little but nothing that cant be beat with a little exposure.

Best,
Rach
 
After my motorcycle wrench years ago I was given the same advice. Once I got out of the hospital the very first thing I did was get back on and go for a ride, casts and all. I still carry all the pins and plates from the accident in my body but my mind is clear of gremlins. I would suggest waiting until your healed though, riding with the casts was not one of my brightest ideas.
 
I hear ya. It took awhile before I could get around. We could always do coffee. While Bob's working, I'm still in recovery mode so I've got time on my hands.

I walked through the accident quite a few times whenever the gremlins started to rear their ugly little heads to really understand what went on and what I could learn from it. My high school shop teacher gave me an invaluable lesson, respect the danger in something, never fear it. Respect keeps your head clear and thinking, fear leads to panic.
 
Brilliant reporting on your accident Rachel, thanks so much. It is very rare to get so much quality info on a climbing accident.

I don't believe that what occurred is any kind of indictment of SRT. We've all been in situations in trees where if a wasp/bee attack occurred, we would be in deep trouble, doesn't matter what rope technique is being used. Often there isn't a possibility to get away quickly and you can't really descend fast enough to escape stinging once it starts.

Ironically Rachel was on her way to making it safely to the ground on her own without the attempted lowering.

This accident makes me feel more than ever that unless there is tight coordination and regular rescue practice with coworkers, I don't want anyone, no matter how well intentioned, near my basal anchor. Without confidence in rescue capabilities I would rather the anchor be out of reach of anyone on the ground.

Good luck on your recovery Rachel and thanks again for reporting on your accident and participating in this important discussion!
-AJ
 
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