when things go wrong...
 

some of you wont want to finish reading this .

it was August 10th 1999 . a week ago i had got my new black eagle Onida 1 of only 3 in the county at the time . i spend so much on the bow i went and got a cheap rest and started shoting 3 days latter i was shoting from 125ft away . the next morning my 15 year old son wanted to shot with me .. we shot a few time each and than in 3/10 of a secound my life changed ....

the rest broke caught in the string and hit me in the left temple at over 200 fps . it stund me and i did not even know i had been hit at the time .

3 days my brain swelled . the shock wave had caused nerve damage to the brain from one side to the other of my skull. i was totally blind for 3 months . it took me 3 years to learn to walk and talk again , 386 doctor apt & test and 15 pairs of glasses in 5 years ....

i dont know you . or this site this is my frist time here ....i just got a new tribue and i am the blindbowmen . i love bowhunting . i have faced more than evil can dish out . and nothing on earth well take the bowmen out of me why i still breath ....

i was the best for miles around ...now i am just glad to be around ...hopefully others can learn from my missteak ...!

RE: when things go wrong...
 

Wow, that's crazy man.

It's a blessing that you're still with us, and I'm definitely glad to hear you're doing better now.

You're a true sportsman for sticking with archery even after all you've been through.

It's a pleasure to have you here and I look forward to getting a chance to read your posts.

RE: when things go wrong...
 

This is truly inpirational. For you to overcome all of that, and still come back from it and pick up a bow again is amazing. Good luck to you this upcoming season.

RE: when things go wrong...
 

i left out the hard parts . its to much for most to hear. it makes bowmen shake & trimble ....we take life all the time huntinggame, yet we never think of our own lifebeing taken ...

i have hunted in the pooring rain , falling ice , deep snow , and bitter cold . and yes the sunny days as well but hunting to find my self again was far harder ...

i would set by the open window and hear the deer walking in the fields, hear them calling and pray some day .. some day ...

now is some day .... my tree stands are up and my plots are germanating , the brush is cut back and the shotting lines areclear...

this is going to be a great season !

RE: when things go wrong...
 

it wasnt a easy path . 3 days after the patches were taken off . my vission came back about 80% one night . i called my family i was on top of the world . the next morning my son walked out the door to go to school and my vission failed in a few mintues and i lost it . i lost it bad . i walked up the road screaming at god . weeks went by before i knew where i was again ... than came the day my grand daughters were playing in the front yards . i cryed like a baby . i didnt know if i would ever see them again .. ... thanks givening morning my wife of 23 years found me in the front yards at 5;30 morning with a 12 gage . i had droped the shell on the ground and couldnt find it .......i was cralling around on the ground on my hands and knees like a baby ... beyond degradeing ...

i had skull pain so bad , i would run ice cold water over my head in the kitchen sink for hours ....why my family would sleep i would bit on a dish clouth so i wouldnt scream from the pain and wake them up ....

when you hold your bow in your hand you think about what could happen ...

i dont, i dont have to think about it ,... i know what can happen

ya its hard for me to talk about this , i am crying . but if i can safe one life ... stop one bowmen from make this missteak ... i gladly except the cost ....

stay safe stay free

RE: when things go wrong...
 

here is the funny part in 2004 i tryed to hunt for the frist time .i lost so many arrows i quite counting them . i hunted from 27th of sept.to closeing dusk the end of gun season . i couldnt hit the broad side of barn ...i was so depressed i sold my bow and didnt hunt for the last two years ... i went to take down the tree stands . and i climbed up and set down and it came rushing back to me like a big buck steping into sight ... i have been shooting out 60 ft and with the new 2006 tribue i think i can tune in even tighter . i am hitting the 3d deer 90% in a8 inch from 50ft , soon my new bow and i will be as one again and than the huge bucks had better be hideing ...thank you guys for your replys check your gear each time and upgrade when ever you can for quality and good design.... i shot that black eagle about 900 times. but it only takes one shot for something to go wrong ..... i think i was one of the lucky ones

RE: when things go wrong...
 

Man that is one heck of a bad/sad story.

Glad to hear you are back in the saddle, hopefully you will be rewarded this year for your tribulations.

RE: when things go wrong...
 

IAM glad to see you are doing better, seems to me you have alot of spirt and fight, i wish you best of luck this season, welcome to the forums:)

RE: when things go wrong...
 

Its amazing how often this probably happens, we just never hear about it. The story is sad but yet it is the most inspiring story I have ever heard in my life. It seems that many of us take life for granted and dont realize how much we have around us that we worked so hard for that can be taken from us in a blink of an eye, this story really made me think of how much I take my life, my wife, my children, my job and everything I do for granted. I dotn knwo what I would do if something happend to me that would change my life to the point that I would never be able to see, hold, kiss, run, and play with my family. I realized all this about7 years ago to this date, when I had an incident myself. It was right before bow season in WI and I decided to hang a stand in a great loacation. I looked over all my gear, everything was in tip top shape. I made the trip to the woods with my new stand, and new tree steps. I hung the stand aqbout 18 feet off the ground put the safety harness and sat sat on the stand admiring the view. When I was done admiring the view I removed the harness, and began my decent. No more than 2 steps down I lost my footing, sliding me down the tree faster than I could imagine. I was able to grab one my steps with my left hand hoping to at least slow me down enough to make hitting the ground not hurt so bad. Well god was watching out for me that day, I was able to grab the step with my left, but I almost lost my weddingband and finger at the cost. the only thing the was held me long enough to get my footing back on the lower steps, was my wedding ring. I had just gotten married thatJune and had a 1 year old son. Although the damage to my ring and fingerwas servere, I didnt lose my finger, but had to have the ring reparied. It still doesnt fit like it used to, and It should be replaced, but I wear as a reminder of the day that could have ended my life, a reminder on how many things we really do takefor granted.That was the lastday I used screw in treesteps.(Fold up with the spikes on them). That very same evening, I went and bought some climbing sticks. Iveused them since. As it is getting harder for mein my old age...lol 31, im finding it harder and harder for me toput up hang ons andstill that day flashes through my head when ever I put one up. I find myself using my hang ons very little and now using ladder stands and my climber for most of my hunting. Anything can go wrong at anytime while hunting, and It took my fall to realize that. Since that day, before I even climb a tree, get on my knees, thank the lord for everything he has given me and taught me, and ask him to pleasemakeit a safe, blessfull hunt. And he has blessed me over the years since then. Sothe next time you go out to the woods, take a look at everything you havearound you, your family, friends, job, etc and ask yourself, what would reallyhappen if something happend to me?Always let someone know where you are hunting, to exact spot if psossible, carry a cell phone, firstaid kit, survival kit if away from home, always wear your climbing/safety harness when climb, hang, and decend your stand. And please let you family especially your children how much you love them before going out, I do.

RE: when things go wrong...
 

I appreciate life when I'm in the woods enjoying my sport. It is stories like this that make me appreciate life in general. Thanks for sharing your story and not giving up. Had you given up it would have been a very depressing way of life. Bow hunting may have robbed you of some of your abilities but it very likely saved your soul.

Good luck this year and I hope that you fill your freezer.

Tom