It Was A Doable Job.  But....

This work report has been the most difficult one I have written to share with you in the 5 years I've been doing so since our disaster response ministry was established in 2013. This work assignment ended our 5-year 100% safety record...and in rather dramatic fashion, I might add. As you read this report please remember, as we have been so poignantly reminded ourselves, that chainsawyering is an inherently dangerous activity. Each of us who has been called to serve in this ministry knows the risks we face and we strive to calculate our intended actions before taking them, assessing the re-actions that could occur and employing safety precautions to minimize the risks we anticipate. But no matter how careful we may be, accidents can still happen. And on this job, one did. In the end, one of our teammates was especially lucky and extremely blessed this week. And we now have a very special story to tell of God's grace and the shield of protection our Lord placed around him. We certainly did not need the drama and anxiety that this accident caused - to our teammate, to his wife and family, and even to those of us who know him as our brother in Christ - to encourage us to even more boldly witness in Jesus' name; but as a result of it, we certainly will! Please read on for the details.

On Wednesday, June 20, one of our co-founders, Boyd Martin, received a telephone call from a man speaking in very broken, heavily accented English and simply repeating the words, "Tree...cutters...house."  Boyd was able to ask him to text his name and address to Boyd which he did and immediately thereafter called again saying, "Tree...cutters...house." Boyd then asked if he could text Boyd the phone number of the person who had given this man Boyd's phone number, which he did. And then called back a third time with the three words, "Tree...cutters...house," and then the additional request, "Can you help?" It turned out that the referring "person" was an American Red Cross representative and the man calling was a clergyman by the first name of Benson who had relocated locally to Mulga from Kenya, Africa! The Red Cross representative told Boyd that "a limb" had fallen on Benson's house during the winds and storms on June 12 and as we have responded to Red Cross requests for help in the past she was hopeful that we could help Benson now. Boyd called Buddy Williams to tell him of the request and together the two of them went to the property later that morning to scope out the job. They determined that although it might be a bit tricky, it appeared doable for a small team of cutters assisted by the Asbury UMC skid steer, Abel.

Before:

Before:

Before:

We sent out a call to a select list of cutters that afternoon seeking the one or two other cutters who might be available to assist Boyd, Buddy and Abel.  An all-Asbury team - consisting of Boyd, Bob Suellentrop, Tim Smith and Abel, plus Buddy - was formed in short order. Because of the high heat and humidity the team decided that they would only work during the morning hours on Thursday morning and then again on Friday morning if they needed to finish up then. They were pleased to find that they progressed through the removal of a large limb from the roof of the house in an efficient and quick manner and that with the removal of the remaining tangle of branches, the job would actually be competed in one day. As they had chained the tangle of final remaining branches together and tied the chain to Abel to pull them away, as Abel began to move the limbs quite unexpectedly pivoted and one of them forcefully struck Buddy in the head, dramatically flinging his protective hard hat helmet off his head and knocking him to the ground.  Of course work immediately stopped and although he never lost consciousness, Buddy did complain of pain - and we know Buddy really hurts if he complains about anything - so a call to 9-1-1 immediately went out. The firefighters and paramedics arrived quickly and placed a brace around Buddy's neck and transported him to Grandview Medical Center, Buddy's hospital destination of choice.

Prepped for transport:

Upon admission Buddy's doctors determined that he had fractured his C-6 vertebrae and surgery would be required. While Buddy's family gathered at the hospital - his wife and daughters living locally arrived quickly, his daughter living in Atlanta arrived later that day, and his son, Chris (also a CFC teammate but currently serving as a missionary in Colombia with his own wife and children; the hidden blessing here was that Chris was stateside in Indiana for a series of meetings) would be able to return to Birmingham to assist with his father's transition home after his surgery before his own required return to Colombia - the job at Pastor Benson's home was completed.

After:

Obviously the importance of the job gave way to fears and concern about Buddy.  While the team was pleased to assist Pastor Benson who was well pleased with results, everyone's attention was now focused on our brother Buddy.  Boyd and Henry Averyt spent the remainder of Thursday and much of Friday with Buddy and his family at Grandview.  At 9 am Friday morning, just 19 hours after he was admitted to the hospital, Buddy was transported from his hospital room into surgery where his surgeon fused Buddy's C-5 through C-7 vertebrae with metal plates and stabilizing pins.  He was in and out of the operating room in just under one hour! And the surgeon reported that everything had gone well and according to plan. Recuperation would take some time and Buddy would be restricted from participating in any activities requiring him to exert himself for at least 3 months. He would obviously need to wear a neck brace for some time, not lift anything weighing any more than 5 pounds, not lean over and certainly do everything he can to minimize any movement of his neck as he heals. CFC teammate Ray Miller who was conducting hospital visits on behalf of Riverchase UMC on Friday afternoon, visited with Buddy and Jan (Buddy's wife), and Buddy's family members who were gathered in his room.  Ray read him scripture from Psalms and prayed with them all. Ray reported that Buddy was in good spirits and already wondering about how long he would need to remain in the hospital post-operatively. I had been out of town until Friday night although I was kept informed of this whole series of events by texts and emails virtually in real time. I was thrilled when Buddy himself texted me Saturday morning (at 1:22 am!) and then again early Saturday (a bit later at 9:15 am) when Boyd also texted me to say that Buddy had just been cleared for discharge by his surgeon! I was able to spend several hours with Buddy, Boyd and Chris (Buddy's son) on Saturday at Grandview before his discharge. Indeed, he was ready to go!

Awaiting final discharge orders - Boyd, Buddy and Chris:

Buddy's nurse, Jason, redressed Buddy's neck sutures - to this untrained eye the incision site looked very good and any resulting scar will probably ultimately fade into the fold lines of his neck - and removed the drainage line from his neck while we observed his technique. (We gave him good marks!) Buddy walked up and down the hall for the physical therapist proving that he could maneuver on his own at home and he ate the meal that the Food and Nutrition Department delivered while we were there proving, apparently, that he could swallow (with some but only moderate discomfort - after all, they did have to dissect his...well, maybe that's not too important to the story; suffice it to say Buddy quite adequately passed the swallow test). So we talked politics, religion, healthcare, power mechanics, families, our CFC ministry and even bee pollen and honey while we waited for his final visit from the hospitalist on duty and subsequent discharge! Buddy told me that when he awoke in the recovery room the first things he did was wiggle his fingers and toes and thanked God! We all thank God and praise Him, too, for we know that the Great Physician was certainly involved in guiding Buddy's surgeon's hands, and was ever present in overseeing the entire hospital staff who cared for Buddy! Chris drove away with him in the passenger seat of his car, headed for home in Clay, Alabama at 2 pm - just 48 hours almost to the minute after he arrived in the emergency room! This was a sobering experience for everyone. We know it was an accident. But it was an accident that could have had a dramatic and tragic outcome instead of the positive one we have been afforded. Praise God. He IS good...all the time. And all the time...God is good! Please continue to keep this disaster response ministry in your prayers. We will not discontinue our ministry or be dissuaded from serving because of this accident. But we will re-double our emphasis on safety and planning in an effort to continue to minimize any additional tragedies that might befall our teammates. It's what we must do in order to continue restoring hope in Jesus' name to those needing our help in their times of need. Please be in prayer for Buddy and his family as he progresses through recovery and rehabilitation, lifting them up as often as you can. And if you feel led to share your well wishes with Buddy, I'm sure he would appreciate your contact with him via email at bwill48@att.net.

Our blog is always being updated. Please stay in touch with us by reading it from time to time at cuttersforchrist.bolgspot.com.

In His Service, Bob Bob Thompson Cutters for Christ Disaster Response Ministry Deployment/Team Coordinator _____________________________________________________________