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Chockstone Forum - Accidents & Injuries

Report Accidents and Injuries

Author
Macca badly injured - fund raiser
dalai
25-May-2020
7:24:37 PM
Macca was badly injured on the 17th and is currently in hospital and undergoing numerous operations as he is pretty banged up.

If you would like to contribute to his costs please go to mycause link

Macciza
26-May-2020
6:03:22 AM
Thanks matey...
I was expecting the initial accident report would have kicked off the usual slagging, second guessing of ‘what happened ‘ and general abuse against me ... oh well...

I will get around to write up an accident report at some point down the track
The mycause page has some general medical info but basically it’s both legs and left wrist stuffed..
Wrist should be fine in long run with plate and screws, legs a bit more problematic... could be anything from pretty bad, to fused, to removal of foot ....

Long second pitch on this, recovery is always long and sustained but will give it my best shot .

Remember, climbing isn’t safe... take care and have fun out there .....
Cheers
gfdonc
26-May-2020
7:09:40 AM
Bad news. Glad to hear you're still with us, and best of luck for the recovery process.

Miguel75
26-May-2020
8:56:16 PM
Sorry to hear you’re banged up Macciza though very happy to hear you’re still in the fight. I hope your rehab goes well mate. Stay strong.

gordoste
27-May-2020
11:29:34 AM
This kind of thing can happen to anyone climbing outside. Hope the pain meds are not messing with you too much and you feel better soon.
kieranl
28-May-2020
10:31:38 AM
That chopper evac looked pretty full-on. Amazing effort by everyone, yourself included. Can't. be easy keeping it together in those circumstances.
All the best for your recovery.
jrc
29-May-2020
9:13:47 AM
Good to hear you are still with us Macca you are a bit of a legend on some of Australia s most questionable rock. And hard stuff too!! Thanks for taking Michael climbing now and then And giving him and his mates a few tips - they do listen- and just generally being A good bloke. 3 kids too I didn’t know that!!

I was thinking of you with that op on your ankle I sincerely hope all went well and the body is given it’s best chance of recovery. No slagging required (incl d heads on abc Facebook) falls can happen surprisingly to anyone it’s just incredibly bad luck yours was that bit more serious. Absolute best wishes for getting whole again! John c

Macciza
30-May-2020
2:28:19 PM
Thanks everyone... it was a bit of an epic rescue ... Once I’d come to a stop on the rope and was able to appraise my injuries it seemed pretty clear that evac would be necessary... if any one of the injuries had not occurred we probably could have self rescued... if the 3 main injuries had been slightly less severe we possibly could have self rescued... probably could gave self rescued if I absolutely had to but would have worsened the consequences considerably... no sense in losing a foot due to pride ...

Have done similar stuff many times and never had it end like this time did ...there’s always a chance that things will turn out badly... it’s always 50/50....it’s the only time I’ve ended up deep in th wrong 50...

IdratherbeclimbingM9
3-Jun-2020
4:32:48 PM
Blerrie heck Macca, you sure know how to get full value out of your adventures...

I’m glad that you’re still with us and I know that the recovery time ahead of you will also be a significant undertaking, so I wish you all the very best with it mate.

After your previous exploits, like climbing Shai Halud, which though you probably didn’t equate such at the time (other than mindset acknowledgment), as having the potential for very real pain and suffering consequences similar to your present circumstances, I’m very interested in your thoughts on mortality and if your thoughts have changed in light of this recent mishap.

50/50 odds sounds okay to a conditioned mindset, but experience evolves with the life journey undertaken, and when a chapter like the one you’re adding now is included, I reckon hindsight / reflection allows legitimacy to reinterpretation of long held life values.

I’m also interested to know if through your recent experience/s if you have become aware of dimensions to existence that were previously obscured by ‘normal’ day to day living. Maybe these thoughts are best shared in the warmth of a campfire rather than online, and if so, then I look forward to our next meeting.
BA
19-Jun-2020
8:43:42 AM
Here's a link to ABC news.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-19/blue-mountains-rock-climber-tells-of-cliff-plunge-rescue/12369830
capt_planit
20-Jun-2020
8:36:33 AM
Thanks BA. Was wondering about the story...Macca in lots of videos. Watched them all. Any speculation on why you inverted Macca?

Macciza
20-Jun-2020
6:01:03 PM
My recollection is almost of tumbling... I was kind of sideways to the cliff as I fell, my right knee is a bit dodgy so my mind recognised it was safe relatively speaking...
rather than angled. slab the rock had a number of mini- ledges... my left foot hit first I think turning it outwards an popped my ankle bone, the talus, completely out of position and slightly out of my skin... then right foot hit, damaging the end of the tibia, a Pilon fracture, and snapped my tib and fib which broke through the skin under initial force... somewhere amongst this , possibly as a result of a “quick, think of something” thought, I may have tried to push myself away , or maybe just somewhere in all this my wrist was broken...

Anyway my recollection is of almost tumbling, thanks will have to check with my mates and see what they recall ... basically I hit the rock before rope had come tight which can do all sorts of weird things to a breaking body...

Hope that made sense....

Macciza
20-Jun-2020
6:49:19 PM
Hey M9 hows things ...
Yeah have been in far worse places many times whilst scrambling, soloing, and on the odd climb.. Shai Hulud was certainly a great experience.. one of those “gear will be fine if you don’t fall” type of things, and all gear is 50/50 anyway.as in it either comes out or it stays in, and I’ve not had much hear pull out and course concern before plus I just thought it felt right, so ‘right’ in fact that I sandbagged myself into it on this public forum.. I felt no pressure because of that, no reason to not do it ... I’d semi -figured death might be more likely in case of a fall , but really didn’t consider it seriously as I knew I could climb that grade, and could onsight that in the mountains, even though it was completely different rock which kinda slipped my mind... anyway I knew I could do it somehow even if I had to resort to ‘aid’.... 😧

No epiphanies.. conscious whole time till Ambos arrived... did have an interesting metaphysical experience at one point deep in the Ketamine K-Hole when the singular dot that was ‘me’ actually create our reality of the continuum I was in ... I still had some remnants of a rational brain then ... but then the dot that I was , disintegrated and a final thought of ‘am I dying’ disappeared as an almost nothingness scrambled to find con text within a maelstrom of convolution ...

before kinda either blacking out to nothing or coming to out of nothing, trying to focus as my mind thought is that you Luke, my rescuers, and having an impossibility trying to reach out to him ... I was totally drug-farked and probably lashed into the litter at that point but figured I was safe for a while ... I do have a fairly vivid image of deep inhalations of nasal something, probably Fentanyl .. can’t recall whether I passed out or re-entered th cosmos consciousness...

Oops might have got a bit too campfirery there ... but I’m still a bit drugged up ... ideally everything will go fine and I’ll be back on the rock in no time, and with a bit of training, back to sufficient conditions to finish of a few current projects and more ... stay tuned ...
capt_planit
20-Jun-2020
8:54:54 PM
Thanks Macca. Very informative. It did look ledgy. So let me get this straight, no gear pulled, you had just run it out a bit? I too am interested in the metaphysical bits (like M9). Does your mind replay the actual moment of the fall? Are there variations? Moments when you see (obviously) how it could have been worse, or (so much better) how you could have avoided it? Best wishes for a full recovery and kudos for being so open about what must be a very painful experience.

Macciza
25-Jun-2020
2:04:37 PM
Yep, unfortunately I am often quite comfortable when runout, depending on difficulty, terrain, angle, etc ... I certainly was particularly worried on the day as the climbing was quite fun an not really challenging so falling was the furthest thing from my mind .. I was picking the weakness, the easiest path to the next spot that appeared to provide protection and/or a good stance, running it out for a few body lengths between each placement.
A few body lengths out to a good stance from some ok gear was where I finally ended up but unfinished gear was to be found, but a single simple move of no real concern should have got me to a good horizontal but alas I never got there .
No gear pulled whatsoever even though one or two bits may have been 50/50 ... can’t recall exactly which piece caught me but it may have been a 50/50 sideways but in shallow pocket... will have to check with Zac or the few photos he took when he cleaned it afterwards..
I can replay sections of the climb up but not all as it wasn’t particularly memorable but the replay did allow me to remember the occasional moment when the etrier snagged briefly but I ignored it for whatever reason... I can replay from the moment I realised I was falling but not the actual exact moment that I came off... I called ‘falling ‘ and saw Zac and Hugh at the belay, then looked down and realised it was probably going to end up bad but was not particularly scared at all ... more a mood of resignation to the fact that ‘this could really hurt’... next is just a memory of tumbling, I don’t think I recall any actual point of impact as things are happening pretty fast by this point.. next I’m hanging semi inverted and I look up at my right foots sole and it flopping about very loosely, then reaching up to grab it with both hands, upon which my left wrist explodes with pain and I notice a bone sticking out my left ankle ... at this point I realised I really f---ed up and am seriously injured and will need rescue. Yell out to Zac and Hugh and then holding right foot with right hand get lowered ... can then remember most of what happened until Ambo’s arrive etc.
Strangely it doesn’t really bother me and is pretty much the same every time .. easier to visualise with eyes closed but can still have mental image and feeling with eyes open such as now as I type this ... the only thing that could have perhaps saved me was if the moment of the fall was not so instantaneous which may have allowed me to jump backwards more in order to clear the rock below but oh well ... what happened is what happened, there’s no way to change that now ... Que Sera, Sera... what will Be will be

E. Wells
25-Jun-2020
4:35:08 PM
Love your attitude, and your thesbian skills on that Codeks/Platterpush clip are impressive too!

Macciza
25-Jun-2020
8:08:40 PM
Yeah .. well when your bro’s ask you to help em out you give em a hand ...
I put myself in their hands the same way I do with my belayers ...
I knew they had my back and wouldn’t take advantage...
I put my soul into it ... It was bloody good fun...
Cheers
PDRM
26-Jul-2020
8:25:36 AM
How are you doing now Macca?
Paul

There are 18 messages in this topic.

 

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