Ask any business owner what their biggest issue is and I’ll bet a naked lap around Mizzou arena they say it’s finding help that they can trust. For reasons we all know there is truth behind their concerns. Well today I’d like to share a story that proves there are still trust worthy hard workers out there and Resource Tree is lucky enough to have a couple. This story involves an onsite work-related injury and of course it is taboo in today’s climate to talk about these types of things publicly. But, I have permission to share and we have nothing to hide as far as safety standards. The only way to learn is to share past experiences so here we are to talk about one.
This week we were doing a routine tree removal where in a matter of a seconds it turned into the first injury in our 7-year history. No safety violations took place and all proper PPE was in use. This line of work is not one for those lacking in grit and here’s why. While chipping limbs, one took an out of norm jump and smacked Chris square in the nose. I notice him walk off and rub his nose, his body language was that of a man that just got bit by a fly so I was not yet alarmed. As he walked it off I approached him and asked if he was ok. He said “yeah is it bleeding”? He moved his hand and I said yeah buddy its bleeding pretty good, before I could continue with my description of his injury he said something that I will never forget. “Well shit lets finish this job this week has been going great”. I had to grab him and say Chris your nose appears to be broken, I can see it swelling!!! Chris just says “my head does hurt”. I finally convinced him to go set in the truck and clean up his cut while I made the jobsite safe to leave so we could take him to the ER. Chris had a nose crooked enough to smell around corners and I still had to yell at him twice to get his butt back in the truck while I spent five minutes getting everything buttoned up and shut down. Here is the type of guy you want in your corner. How much pride and heart does it take to handle yourself with such resolve and selflessness in a time of powerful pain? Buddy you got buckets of grit even with a busted nose.
Chris is making a full recovery and no damage was done to his brain or sinuses – just a broken nose.
I’m sure someone reading this will want to raise some questions about safety and proper technique while chipping brush and maybe even cast some judgement. I encourage it, there is only one way to learn and improve and that’s to talk about it. Our motto while on the job is work with efficiency while never compromising safety. Clearly a member of Resource Tree & Land got injured and I as the leader am here to own it and become better as a whole for it. We are very thankful it wasn’t any worse and proud to have members with such grit and pride.