A broken pelvis is the last thing I needed!

Just home from the hospital yesterday (July 17) after going off the roof on July 6th and smashing my left pelvis. They say I will be off for 6 months. Seeing that I'm now 55 years old and this happening maybe I should just quit this game. What would you do in a situation like this? :(>>>

I thought of selling the business BUT who would buy it? Yes I could sell off all my equipment which is substantial, but at present I don't have many signed contracts. I my be selling all my tools any way as I put my house on the market and I'm going to try to relocate to Ohio where most of my family is now. I don't think I will be doing much roofing, maybe home improvements or handyman type stuff. One thing I learned while in my recovery is that over half of what I made went to feed the beast(business) and with out that overhead I really don't need much money to make me happy. I will be paying cash for my new home in Ohio so I wont have a mortgage. That alone will save me $2500.00 a month. Heck I could support myself on Ebay with out any problem as That is what I have been doing since January.>>>

Day 19 on my recovery. I weaned myself off the "hillbilly heroin" (oxycodone) over the past 4 days and the pain seems to be bearable, just a dull ache. After reading up on the oxycodone I thought that it would be beneficial to get off it as soon as possible. Did find out that a 10mg tablet sells for $10.00 on the street. I guess they powder it and either inject it or snort it. I still must have $400.00 left in my perscription bottle if I want to sell it. :laugh:

The more I think about my situation the more I am leaning towards closing up shop. The thought of starting up again seems too daunting at the present time. Some of the things that cross my mind are come January 2010 (expected WC back to work date) are:

-have to look at re-start at the slowest time of the year -have to hire and train new staff -increase in WC rates of min 75% of what I'm paying now because of this claim and it's costs. -what will the economy be like in Jan.?

If I close the doors, what should I do now? -try selling the business -try selling the phone number -sell off any assets

Maybe I need another oxycodone :woohoo:>>>

Gee Whiz, seen it all, now you've done it all. I'm truly sorry to hear of your misfortune. There comes a time in a lot us small time independents careers, that we have to look at a possible career change. Especially when there is injury involved, I had to rearrange myself in 96, because of injuries sustained in 92 from a bad fall. For me back then being laid up for a few months, the blues were the worst obstacle to overcome, but I did, and you will too. In agreement with most of what has been said so far. I have some info I wood like to share with you, as an alternative money-maker, if you are interested. mail me at ljgregory@bellsouth.net or go to my website or call me at 615-633-7497

www.ljgregorysr.acaistory.com>>>

I just hope, regardless of what roofing business decisions you make, that you take care of your health, for the good of yourself and your family.

I would have looked at a friendly competitor or qualified subcontractor to do the current jobs on the board, just to keep cash flow going, but I do understand the trust issues.

Take care and mend well.

The pain does eventually subside into a dull bruised feeling after several years, which you do get used to dealing with every day.

Ed>>>

I fell at 20 and broke my pelvis in half and unknown at the time two vertebra in my back. at 50 I still have pain in the pelvis area and chronic back pain. With my recent biceps tendon brake I'm looking to get out of the roofing business all together my self. It going to mean some major changes in my way of doing things but in the long run it will be the best decision I could make>>>

egg When I first read your reply I agreed on the surface. As the impact of what it is that reply implies . I have to respectfully disagree. I have had in a very short but major decision period of my life advise that was of similar value. The intention was genuine and meant well . Unfortunately it was very self centered and most often offered with the caveat " I offer no opinion " I'll quote Robert C Byrd............ “One's family is the most important thing in life. I look at it this way: One of these days I'll be over in a hospital somewhere with four walls around me. And the only people who'll be with me will be my family.”....... Family is centered around mutual and self sacrifice + lots and lots of work . I respect your replies and post . Importantly , most of your replies are well written and thought out . On this one however , unless I've misunderstood , I have to strongly disagree.>>>

I am so sorry to hear that you are down. Broken bones are no fun but a broken pelvis is miserable. You have a long time ahead of you to think about what you are going to do once you heal. Only you can decide if getting away from roofing is the right thing or if it is your siren song that keeps calling you back. Don't make yourself crazy thinking about it right now. Take the time you need to heal and you will have plenty of time to decide what life holds in store for you. My prayers for a speedy recovery!>>>

I was just wondering what had become of seen-it-all and this is exactly not what I had in mind.

Knew a GC who had a bachelor's in math but like many of us in the seventies wound up staking his lot in the trades. He was not a great builder, was not particularly good at managing people in the trades, not bad but just not great. Tried to tarp up a little shed roof in the rain one night, slipped on the visqueen in the dark and destroyed his pelvis. Was laid up for months in a full body cast, thinking about how he could get a handle on his accounting practices and job-costing. Started programming with a friend of his who was there during the dawn of the computer age, formed up a company, copyrighted his software, cobbled together sales, revision after revision, and after a good long while sold it to a major software firm for millions. He's now growing vegetables and running a restaurant.

Each of us has to grapple with the life God gave us to work with. It is a gift, not a burden. Even in times of crisis, every day is a gift. Winning & losing, succeeding & failing, persisting in the same direction or striking off in a different one, these things are all illusory. How you feel about your life is all that matters. No one has the right to judge from outside the personal rectitude of a decision made from inside. The real opportunity is to open up to all the questions we generally keep strictly in check while we are moving jobs.

One way or another and with everything we have going for us in our lives, it always comes down to use it or lose it. Nothing wrong with losing it. Unless in some way losing any particular "it" pierces your core. Everybody can have an opinion and back it up with recitations of perfectly valid reasoning, but in the end, we alone are fit to assess what impact the loss will have on us.

Therefore, I offer no opinion. I do offer my intense sympathy and best wishes, in spades.

>>>

What a bummer! Sorry to hear it. Don't let it get you down. Wether or not you keep roofing, you can recover very well and keep on getting it! Just hang in there and do your therapy. Call sometime if you want. Anytime if you're a verizon cell user.>>>

There is roofer here in my town that's done a lot of work for me. He fell 33' onto concrete, head first. It's a miracle he lived. I forget the bone count that was broken, but he was given no chance of a significant physical recovery, nor restoration of full brain function. That was about 10 years ago and he's working today like nothing ever happened, and today he's in his mid sixties. I know he's a miracle, but maybe it offers some hope.

I'm glad you survived, and whatever the recovery involves, one thing I know all good roofers do well......................... adjust.>>>

Sorry to hear. Sometimes things are ripped out of our lives to make room for something bigger. I hope it turns out to be the case here.>>>

One of the hardest thing for a good craftsman to do is to let go of the hands-on production and change to trainer/coach/mentor. And yet, if this transition is successful, you have the benefit of years of experience and knowledge being applied through hands that are fresh and eyes that are not jaded. So why don't more people succeed? Because it's very hard to make the mental change. For instance:

- As a craftsman, you set the standard, and then achieved it, through skill, determination and hard work. To get another person to achieve the same standard requires a lot of patience, guidance, encouragement, ability to read moods and empathy. Oh, and it helps to have a indestructible tongue as you'll be biting it all the time, refraining from telling your charge how YOU would do the same detail. He/she aren't you, and their strenghts and weaknesses are not yours, so they have to find their own way to get to the same place.

- As a craftsman, you make an almost infinite number of adjustments during the course of the work, from the initial conception, to the final result. And you do it almost automatically, with very few issues rising to a level of consiousness where you are aware you're solving a problem. However, unless you've mastered the Vulcan mind-meld, you can't micromanage your worker/trainee. So now you have to master a different way of adjusting to the usual deviations from the expected, through goal-setting, inspection of interm results, discussion of why this or that would not work, discussion of how to correct it... yada, yada, yada. Man, it's taking forever to do a simple (to you) thing. And yet, this is the training/mentoring/coaching approach which allows you to invest the worker with the knowledge and insight to get things done correctly.

- As a craftsman, you're used to balancing technical details, vs. esthetic, vs. budget, vs. schedule. Heck, you can do it with your eyes closed! And yet, the promising worker(s) you have recruited don't have the benefit of your years of experience and knowledge to make those decisions correctly most of the time. So again, you have to monitor what's going on and pull them back when you see them doing the things wrong, without, at the same time micromanaging them so that they give up doing things on their own initiative, and wait for you to bark the command.

I've got a senior installer who's exactly in this position. His knees are shot, and he already had open-heart surgery. Yet he cannot let go of the hammer/tools. I know he is capable of training, as he has done an excellent job with several workers (one of which already is the head of another crew), but only when he's in the mood. So we do this dance when he comes to see me to tell me that he can't continue on the roof, and then we work out a plan so that he can follow his two or three most senior guys to ensure that they can do the work he has done, and then a few days later I would go on the job site and he's up there again, hammer and snips in hand. I ask him why and he usually tells me that he watched them struggle with this really simple detail, and he just got frustrated and decided to "get it done". And I go back to teaching him how to be a trainer/mentor/coach. It's not that he will lose his job (he knows that I need his skills in a number of areas), but he really has a hard time letting go of the "doing" end. Sigh. :(>>>

Thank you all for your encouraging remarks and advise. At the time of my accident I had one fellow in training (has been with me about a year) plus 2 labourers. There is no one to really take charge and work solo to keep things going. My oldest son offered to ask for a leave of absence at his employer but I told him his electrician career was more important than trying to hold things together on my end.

I have cancelled all upcoming contracts with people and will let them find someone else to do their work. I was reluctant to recommend anyone because if the job went sideways I would feel some what responsible.

I have somewhat determined that this may be the end of the road as I already suffer from previous injuries (2 broken heels in 1991, broken right ankle in 1992, 5 ribs and punctured lung in 1993 plus other breaks in my younger years being a foot and a kneecap)

I also have a torn rotator muscle in my left shoulder plus numbness in the side of my left hand and two fingers from the latest fall. It is suprising how much damage you can do in a fall of less than 8 feet.>>>

That is going to hurt for the rest of your life. Ouch!>>>

I hate to see anyone not be able to determine their own terms for quitting, so I'm hoping this doesn't end up to be a career-ender for you. Myself though, I was laid up with two broken wrists and the revelations from that experience provided me with the incentive to cut way back on future exposure. In the roofing business recovery time sometimes ends up being the longest vacation time we get, I hope you are able to take advantage of it.>>>