Jackie Clay injured after fall from roof
The magazine’s most popular writer, Jackie Clay, will be sidelined for a while after fracturing her sternum and compressing three vertebrae when she fell off a barn roof. She was released from the hospital Thursday after a three-day stay.
I talked to Jackie this morning. She’s in a lot of discomfort, but her spirits are upbeat and she’s hoping to get back to blogging Monday. Right now she has difficulty even sitting up and is doing a lot of sleeping to allow time to help with the healing process.
Lisa, the BHM Editorial Coordinator, posted a statement about the accident on Jackie’s blog yesterday.
Here’s what Jackie told me this morning: Will was putting metal roofing on their new storage barn. It was threatening to both rain and blow so she wanted to help him get the roof fastened down. Over Will’s objections, she went up on the roof to help him.
It then started to sprinkle and Will began to slide off the roof. Jackie reached out and grabbed his shins in an effort to stop his slide, but both fell off and hit the ground eight-feet below. Jackie landed on her feet “like a cat” she said, but the impact broke her sternum and compressed the three vertebrae. Will was bruised but broke nothing, and he is back out haying today. Jackie said he just missed landing on a metal trash can, which could have injured him seriously.
Jackie was ambulanced to a local hospital, then helicoptered to St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth when her oxygen numbers went too low and doctors feared her sternum was bleeding into a lung. A CAT scan revealed it was just fluid from lying down, not blood.
They sent Jackie home yesterday wearing a medical corset and told her to rest until she sees the orthopedic surgeon again in about a week. She said she can take a few steps but is otherwise not able to sit up for very long, so she is doing a lot of sleeping. Luckily, she said, Will is a good cook.
Jackie said there is a moral in this story: “Don’t be in too big a hurry to use a safety rope. We give advice to others about how to do things, but then we sometimes neglect to take precautions ourselves.”
August 6th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
EEEEEP!
Jackie, you are one of my favorite writers! Please do not push yourself too hard to get back to work: give yourself time to heal!
August 6th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
We thought something must be really wrong for Jackie not to be posting. Get well soon Jackie and Will. We miss the ‘goings on’ in your lives. Glenn and Lee (pigzzilla)
August 7th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
I’m very sorry to hear about Jackie’s accident. Take care Jackie and I’ll send up prayers for a speedy recovery.
August 8th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Thanks, Dave, for the information regarding our garden guru. She is in our prayers. Blessings.
August 9th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Bless her heart! Praying for a complete and speedy recovery for our favorite canning expert.
August 9th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Very sorry about Jackie’s accident . I can only imagine how hard it will be for her to sit & ‘ watch ‘ someone else in her kitchen filling in for her . Praying for a speedy recovery , Jackie .
August 9th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Oh Jackie, I am so sorry this has happened. Sternums hurt when broken. Take your pain meds when needed and try not to be stoic, it’s not worth it. Hang in there and know lots of people are praying for you!
August 9th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Take good care of yourself, Jackie, so that you will soon be well.
August 9th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Get better soon Jackie. I know it goes against your grain to rest and let others do the work, but you will have to do just that for a while.
You can teach Will to do the canning. It was your articles and instruction that gave me the courage and information to get a pressure canner and put up meats. Right now I have some lovely jars of chicken in broth cooling in the kitchen and I am hearing the occasional ‘ping’ as the jars seal. I wish I lived closer so I could come help!
Thank you for your wonderful instructions! I hope you heal quickly!
August 10th, 2010 at 7:09 am
Thanks for taking the time to update us, Dave. That was really close! Thank God both Jackie and Will didn’t suffer bone breaks, so at least Will can be up and doing while Jackie heals.
August 10th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Jackie,
Please get well soon, we miss you greatly. You are in our prayers and we know you’ll be back soon.
God Bless,
Harold and Peni
August 10th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Jackie, best wishes on a speedy recovery… then stay off the roof. I retired a year ago from 42 years as a plumber, and as I got older I wanted to do everything myself like I used to… but thankfully I usually had a younger partner who valued my knowledge more than my ‘physical’ proneness… which is mostly gone now. I don’t garden at all, and cook a little, but I always look forward to your articles and your readers questions and your answers.
Thank you