Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Building a garage-apartment with a pond view

About 2 weeks ago a ladder got me or I got myself. I was trimming a tree at a rent house. Its limbs were on my house and a neighbors. I had both an extension and a step ladder. I finished cutting everything down in my yard and put the extension ladder and chainsaw into the neighbors yard. I got up on their house and cut back limbs that I could reach. However, there was that I couldn't get to from the top of the house. So, I went down and put the ladder at a goofy angle on the tree. I had to do it to keep the limb from falling on me. I knew I should have used the step ladder but..... I went up and cut the limb off and took a step down on the ladder. It started going sideways and my first response was to throw the saw away from me. I figure that increased my inertia heading to the ground. As I was descending I remember telling myself to not try to break the fall with my hands. I had broken my right wrist previously due to an error in judgment involving a dozer. I pulled my arms in to my chest and hit on my chest and right hand which was balled into a fist. It hurt. I laid there about 2 seconds and tried to get up. I made it to my feet on the second try but had knocked the breath out of myself. I hurt from my sternum to my backbone and figured I had broken a rib. Broken ribs are something else that errors in judgment has given me experience with. When I got my breath back I started for the gate to go home and apply ice or go to the Doc. Then I noticed 2 back yards full of limbs. I couldn't leave things that way. So, I spent about an hour slicing, dicing, bundling, tieing up and hauling to the curb. Then I went home, took a shower, and applied ice for the next 8 to 10 hours. I figured out that the ribs weren't busted because I could breathe and cough without crying. The next day I went to the Chiropractor to get ribs put back where they belonged. I've known him for 20+ years and is a pretty good guy. He asked me to give him all the details leading to my visit. A moment or so after my recitation, he started laughing. He said "Boy, I wish I had seen that". His next statement was something about his appreciation on helping to pay his daughters college tuition. My Wife got home later and didn't share his sense of humor. By now, the discoloration has almost completely disappeared and I'm only a little sore.