cowsharks Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I made it a habit a long long time ago to say a short prayer asking God to protect me as I'm about to embark on my fossil adventures. He's come through every time! However, I still insist on doing dumb stuff that goes against things like the Universal Law of Gravitation that Auspex posted, or one of Newton's Laws of Motion etc. I think most of us have encountered the typical cuts, scrapes, bruises and other superficial flesh wounds including poked eyes. I've had some really bad cuts on my fingers that bled like crazy, but I still continued to sift with my hands in the dirty Potomac/Chesapeake waters. September of 2010 I had only been at the beach for about a half hour when my lower back started to hurt while doing some sifting along the shoreline. Within minutes it really hurt and I knew this was different than other pain so I stopped and decided to "walk-it-off". When I tried to take a step the pain shot up and down my spine and I dropped to the ground on my hands and knees. I thought uh-oh, this isn't good. I figured I would "crawl-it-off" by resorting to just knee crawling for a while until the pain subsided then I should be ok. Well, I crawled and crawled, and crawled some more. All the while I was picking up teeth here and there so I didn't care that I was crawling. Every once in a while I would attempt to sit up but the pain returned quickly so I would go back to crawling some more. Well, I did this for almost 2 hours. By then I had crawled for about 3/4 of a mile. I did another quick check and realized I still could not sit up let alone stand and walk. So, I crawled all the way back to my backpack where my cellphone was and called the wife. Of course I had to start out the conversation by saying something like, "first off, I don't want you to worry, I'm OK", then proceeded to tell her I couldn't walk because something was wrong with my back. I was at a spot over 60 miles from home with no one else on this beach to ask for help. She drove down with our sons, fortunately the oldest had his learner's permit. They walked down through the woods (1 mile) to find me bent over on the beach. My two teenage sons helped me up and practically carried me back to the car, going in 10 foot increments because the pain was really bad. We drove home and I took lots of Ibuprofen. The next day I was at the ER and got a MRI. No broken bones or bulging disks! I had some sort of severe muscle strain or tear in my lower back. It's been almost a year and a half since then and my back still isn't the same. Now I "listen" to my back and stop sooner before the pain gets too bad. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilForKids Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I almost died of Valley Fever a couple years ago that was directly contributed to a dig. I was in the ICU 3 weeks and off work over 4 months. My two friends from the Netherlands digging in the same hole as me were both in the hospital for many weeks. Two other friends digging with us about 30 yards away did not get it. It was a very tough time but I did receive great support from my friends to include many from this forum. FFK If only my teeth are so prized a million years from now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFossilHunter Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 besides the numerous broken bones as i indicated somewhere above in this string, i almost died by getting sucked into the quick sand a week ago in a quarry in PA. It wasn't actually quciksand but deep mud in a quarry pit. I have no idea how deep it was but i was beginning to get stuck and wend down to avove my knees. Luckily there was a pile or rocks nearby and i was able to hold on to those and pull myself out in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I almost died of Valley Fever a couple years ago that was directly contributed to a dig... Was it at Shark Tooth Hill, if so, I'll take it off my bucket list. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelorox Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Was it at Shark Tooth Hill, if so, I'll take it off my bucket list. Daryl. Or you could just make sure its your last item on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilForKids Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Was it at Shark Tooth Hill, if so, I'll take it off my bucket list. Daryl. Yes it was but it was a perfect storm in a bad way and it was not on the Ernst property. I have told many people to dig there since then.........................usally people I don't like :lol: Just kidding! If only my teeth are so prized a million years from now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoc Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I almost died of Valley Fever a couple years ago that was directly contributed to a dig. I was in the ICU 3 weeks and off work over 4 months. My two friends from the Netherlands digging in the same hole as me were both in the hospital for many weeks. Two other friends digging with us about 30 yards away did not get it. It was a very tough time but I did receive great support from my friends to include many from this forum. FFK Got something similar in Nebraska. We were driving to the collection site and some local yahoo company was digging a trench in a dirt road to put in cable or who knows what. We were stuck following them while they dragged this cutting tool behind them which dug the trench. Stupidly rather digging a trench on one side or the other, they were dragging it right down the middle of the road and our car was sucking all the dust in through the AC (I wasn't driving or I would have stayed a mile behind them). Me and my friend spent the next 3 weeks after getting back, coughing our lungs out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoc Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I once found an auriculatus tooth in a quarry when I was climbing a mound and I put my palm on it and it cut my hand open (no stitches but I had to wrap it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) Imagine, those teeth are still doing what they were designed to do so many millions of years after their bearer died! BTW skinned my knucke bloody again today on the sharp shale - same knuckle as a few days ago - and nearly had a heart attack carrying a large chunk down the pile of boulders it was perched upon.. it's bound to get me someday but I'm still here! (Anyway I know of no other easier/safer means - those fossils never occur in easy spots!) Edited January 6, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 it wasn't collecing, I was working with a piece of obsidian that was too big for my saw.A chip flew off the edge of it, and I watch in slow motion as it sank into the back of my finger, blood already dripping. I have never felt any cut so sharp, like a paper cut x 10. it was so sharp, its like it was still sinking into my skin...It was certainly sharper than any surgical scalpel fresh out of the package. "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Yeep, I shouldnt read this thread, I'm squeamish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 This doesn't really count as an injury or a fossil collecting trip, but there was the potential for both.... Back in the 1990's, I decided to take the hike down the canyon of Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park. I had a friend drop me off at the Courthouse Towers area, and I walked all the way to where the wash entered the Colorado River at Moab. It really should have been a pleasant walk. It was a nice day, and the entire canyon has a wet, sandy bottom. As I proceeded, the scenery steadily improved as the Navajo Sandstone walls slowly rose in height. I was taking in the view and then KERPLUNKGGJJJ..... The next thing I knew is I was now knee deep in quicksand. Well, it's not a matter of just pulling your foot out. When you try that, all you do is compress about a foot and a half of wet sand above. After a half hour or so, I finally figured out the trick. Just stir the soupy sand behind and above your ankle, and you can slowly pull your leg out. Ok fine. Whatever.... As I continued on my now slightly annoyed way, I started to feel sharp bits of pain in the back of my knees. It felt like someone was jabbing me with a toothpick. I look back, and a stupid deer fly was sitting there. WHACK went my hand. A little later, I feel more pain. Two flies this time, and I notice more swarming around. And they all bit into me. Well isn't this special. I was trapped in this sheer-walled canyon with nothing but flies, and the only exits were a couple miles away in either direction. So I did what any sane person would do: I covered my entire body in mud. This worked, so I continued on my little-more-annoyed way. And now the finale. As I approached the Colorado, I discovered that the river was a bit into flood stage, and that it had backed into the canyon about a half mile or so. Mmmmm-kay.... At least I found footholds along a terrace in the sandstone to walk my muddy hide up around the water that is "too thick to drink and too thin to plow". I then emerged onto the main highway and crossed the bridge over the river (at least I had that). It was only another mile to the Super 8 as the mud on my skin was drying out, making me look like a walking alligator. My friend was amused as the "mud man" headed straight into the shower.... Here's the area, courtesy of Google Maps. The route is marked with the green arrows: Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) So today, I was trying to pry out a large piece of shale from the hole that I dug, and the prybar slipped. L-shaped end was under the shale, and the straight end was up, and I, being headfirst in said hole, didn't have anywhere to go when the muddy shale allowed the bar to slip, and up came the bar. Resulting injury will leave a scar. Have to remember to bring the safety goggles to this site. Glasses were left in the car. Another 1/4 inch, and I'd be blind in my right eye. Be careful out there - no sense in injuring yourself just for fossils. Regards, Edited January 9, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Glad it wasn't more serious Tim. I've seen lots of safety posts since joining the forum and safety practices can never be stressed enough. "It'll never happen to me", just seems to be human nature, but seriously, I literally think of some of those posts while out hunting and a situation calls it to mind. Again, glad your ok, so...did you get the fossil? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) Glad it wasn't more serious Tim. I've seen lots of safety posts since joining the forum and safety practices can never be stressed enough. "It'll never happen to me", just seems to be human nature, but seriously, I literally think of some of those posts while out hunting and a situation calls it to mind. Again, glad your ok, so...did you get the fossil? Thanks, Steve. I was lucky. And yup - It's up in my gallery! Usually have my glasses on, but when I'm digging, generally don't need 'em. Lesson learned, at not too high a cost, thankfully. Regards, Edited January 14, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Aaagh, Tim, that's scary! Man I hate seeing people get hurt "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 i can tell you i'll never eat a bowl of belemnites again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) (Whether you're falling, or something's falling on you, Mr. Gravity is not always your friend). My motto is "gravity is not my friend". Other than the minor annoyances like blisters on my feet, greenvine ripping through my skin, hot rocks you could fry an egg on, cactus needles finding their way through my gloves and sometime my pants, spider bites, mosquitoes, quicksand, fire ants, inflammatory plants, etc., etc., I have so far dodged gators, snake bites and scorpions stings. However, I did seriously crash and burn on my first trip to Lake Texoma, when I tripped on a tree root while carrying an armload of ammonites and did a face plant into the limestone. Broke a rib, busted my right knee which swelled up like a cantaloupe, bruised my left shoulder, scraped my hands and arms. Lesson learned, always wear my kneepads and gloves until I get back to the car. I did still have to paddle my canoe back to the boat ramp. Since I had driven so far, I went to Walmart, got an knee wrap and a cane and I continued to hunt by getting a couple of containers of gravel from Post Oak Creek that night and hitting the North Sulphur River the next day where it was 110 in the shade. Added dehydration to the list. Now I take extra care not to screw up when I hunt. Edited January 9, 2012 by MikeD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The more I read, the luckier I feel I've been on hunts. I know of a guy who was hit by lightning about 10yrs ago, while collecting in the Rockies I believe. Didn't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Too close bud. You got lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Too close bud. You got lucky. Don't I know it, John! Lesson learned. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Wow! that was close Tim, Im glad your alright! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Just bumps and scrapes so far. I did have a pointed tree branch get me right in the eye. I really thought there was going to be some damage from that one but it didnt hurt anything. Forgot to mention last summer MikeDOTB and I were digging in a sand pit and got entirely too hot. Despite all the water I had I thought I was going to fall out. Edited January 13, 2012 by RickNC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Wow fossildude, I'm glad you are hurt no worse than that! Even the experienced collectors can make a bad call every now and then! A while back I posted a thread on 'safety tips for noobs" and someone suggested putting band-aids on "before" you leave the house! Might have to give that a try next time! My motto is "gravity is not my friend". Lesson learned, always wear my kneepads and gloves until I get back to the car. INow I take extra care not to screw up when I hunt. MikeD, You better get you one of those helmuts like my grandkids wear when they are riding their bikes! Edited January 13, 2012 by Kehbe It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Wow! that was close Tim, Im glad your alright! Thank you, Jim. Yeah, the pride is a bit more wounded than my eye, now! Live and learn. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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