Boats, ladders, and reduced productivity

Last Thursday wasn’t a great day for me. In the midst of a few other tasks, I decided to run down to Panboat and complete the physical install of a Simrad NSS4 so I could get started on testing. All was going well until my ladder wobbled a bit under me. That minor wobble of the ladder turned into a major wobble for me followed by a splat on the concrete floor of the storage barn in which the boat lives.

Unfortunately, this isn’t my first adventure off a ladder — never buy an off brand telescoping ladder, ask me how I know — so I did what I’ve done before. I sat on the ground for a bit and gathered myself. I took stock of what hurt and what didn’t, what worked, and what didn’t, and then decided to stand up. The decision to stand up included putting my right hand down to push off. Quickly, I realized something was quite wrong and that was a bad plan. At that point I realized shock was probably masking a pretty significant injury to my right arm. So, after a ride to the hospital, a fracture reduction procedure in the ER and temporary splinting, a date was made to meet with an orthopedic surgeon.

My meeting with the surgeon was brief. She was unequivocal that I required surgery and so it was scheduled. After a long weekend with an unstable arm, my surgery was completed on Tuesday afternoon. I’m pleased to report I’m feeling better and even able to wiggle my fingers enough to sort of type with my right hand. But, it will probably be a bit until I’m back on the boat finishing my install and testing new gear. So, I apologize in advance for reduced productivity.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a warning to make sure your ladders are on solid ground. Mine was on gravel and that bit of instability cost me dearly.

-A one handed Ben S. signing off