Another big month in the C&B Safe family with lots of people listening to our Safety Stories around the country...thank you to all of you who take the time to listen, it really means a lot to all of us.
This month I talk about the importance of Safety in Small Business, Alan gives you another Bionic Arm Update, Injury impact on Mental Health and Insurance premiums...you certainly don't want mine!!
Plus all our regular monthly updates....
Take care and look out for each other.
James Wood & The CNBSafe Team
Small Business needs Safety too...
I’m used to sharing my story with workplaces, I’ve also been asked to speak at conferences and earlier this year I spoke to 800 people at a convention!.... I was quite nervous!
Last week I was asked if I could share my story at a construction job in Victoria, I spoke to the owner of the business and he explained that it was his residence and he wanted to make sure that the people that were doing the work for him understood the importance of safety!
Now I have to say it was probably one
of the best safety talks I have done. For a start it was a small group of people in an informal setting but it was great to share my views on safety to a group that don’t have a safety person looking out for them, they don’t have manuals or procedures on how to do what they do, most of it is done on the spot and by taking the time to make sure they get it right.
I was impressed that this group went to the effort to listen to my message, I hope it helps them to make sure that the job continues to be incident and especially injury free.
So no matter how big or small your business is are you doing everything you can to keep it safe?
Insurance time again!
Ok so I know I’ve whinged about this before, but my Life Insurance renewal was due this month, It has gone up again as I’m a year closer to carking it!.....
But did you know that I have to pay more because I use a wheelchair? I’m 52 years old this year, and I pay nearly 3 times more than someone my age who is not in a wheelchair!
I’ve got a wife and kids that I want
to look after so I realise how important insurance is, but to have to pay more because I’m in a wheelchair is quite frankly bullshit!
My annual premium is now over $12,000
Getting hurt at work is bad enough, but this is another way that an injury has an ongoing impact on me!
If you break a bone they put it in a splint, if you cut yourself you bandage it up, I broke my back and I now get around using a wheelchair…… So all of these injuries are quite visible.
Recently I met someone who had hurt his back at work, he had a soft tissue injury and was on light duties and doing rehab. I spoke to him for a while and he said that whilst his back was healing he has recently been suffering from depression.
He believes that it was because of his back injury!..... For a month after he hurt his back he had to take it easy, he couldn’t mow his lawns he had to ask his wife to do things that he would normally do and worst of all he could not lift and play with his two and a half year old daughter! His father in law said a couple of things to him that upset him and he told me that he had a breakdown!
Now in some ways I’m lucky, I hate the fact that I use a wheelchair, it pisses me off, I get angry, I get sad, I get frustrated…… But I don’t think I’ve ever been
depressed! It’s hard for me to talk much about depression as I have not experienced it, but I’ve spoken to people that have and I’ve seen how it has impacted their lives.
I’m not a counselor, and I’m not sure if an injury can bring on depression? But for me that would be a double whammy!..... First you get hurt and then you have to try to deal with the other ways it changes your life!
Well I got home 4pm yesterday, after being in hospital for 6 days having surgery. I was supposed to be there for 2 to 3 days. Surgeons have told me I won’t be using any weights on the stump or using the stump in general for 6 weeks. I see the surgeon end of August for a update for what is coming but he did tell me of a possible nerve Bluetooth operation. (I’m in) When they went in the surgeon was shocked to find there was no muscle or nerve there. One of the sites needed was completely torn out but lots of scare tissue which gave the impression all was right to go. He then found a nerve site high up, rerouted a nerve from under the arm
pit and had no trouble with the bicep area. Because of the surgeons skill he turned a bad situation into a workable one, I now have 3 sites for connection.
The operation took just on 8 hrs when all involved allowed 3 to 4 hours as it was supposed to be an easy routine operation according to all the tests and MRI. Six months of training will commence asap and in fact I have been given brain training to do at home which is sending electric shocks down the stump just by thinking different commands. Now I’m at home and bloody fidgety, the area between the right shoulder and neck is bloody tight, would love some physio but I don’t think the surgeon would like that. Guess it is something I must put up with for a while.
Also just another reminder to watch Woody and Alan. It’s a great video interview with a great message about looking out for your mates. If you have not watched it yet click HERE to catch up.
It’s not often you get stuff for free. But for the last 8 weeks we have been providing free video safety messages that you can share with your workplace.
If you haven’t joined us yet you can get your next free safety video from Woody HERE.
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