January 28, 2022
This photo won’t mean much to you until I tell you what happened.
That’s John’s desk and chair he uses in the area where he takes care of his company’s work on the Collins Bus property. The room is no bigger than a good-size garage, so it’s not a big space.
John had been sitting at his desk seconds before a forklift smashed into a pallet and tool chest – both of which he said exploded on impact, destroying them – and then slammed into his desk straight from the left side of the photo, moving his desk and chair to his right.
Moved the desk and chair several feet.
Meaning it would have shoved John to his right as he was sitting there. He would have been seriously injured. With his already injured right knee, there’s no telling what further damage would have been done. He surely would have been in the emergency room.
But he got up and moved.
He said whenever they (forklift drivers) bring parts into his area, he always gets up.
If he had chosen that one time to continue sitting there . . .
Praise the Lord he did not!
Here’s the photo again. You can see the left side is on the floor with the desk legs lying there, and his chair is smooshed into the knee cubby area with the top of the desk right on the leg area.
He said the guys bring pallets in and out all day long, probably have done it thousands of times. The driver wasn’t goofing off. He just barely clipped the edge of John’s tool chest as he turned and that was enough to cause disaster. Just one of those things where everything went wrong in seconds.
Poor Bud . . . that’s his name. He feels awful. He’s well-respected at the plant. Always a very safe driver. Say a prayer for Bud, he’s pretty upset.
There are people out at Collins who were employed at Airgas the day my son Jeff died from the industrial accident. Like John, they couldn’t make themselves go back to work there, so got jobs at Collins. And there are others who worked with Jeff when he was a manager at Target. A good many folks at Collins have known both my boys for many years. I know Bud would never have forgiven himself if John had been injured today.
There have been lots of close calls out at Collins, and not just with John. There’s one thing that keeps happening all over the plant that also happened to John . . . another one of those close calls.
Last summer, on June 14, John had pushed a cart of parts to the middle of the room so he and his friend could work on them. As he walked away from the cart to get the inventory papers, the heavy ceiling light crashed down right onto the cart (most of the light is inside the cart). He took a photo of that incident, too.
John had told me that was the second ceiling light to come down just in his area. He said those lights aren’t installed very well, but they can’t get Collins to do anything about them – until they crash to the floor, that is. So far, no one has been hurt by one, but I would think that’d just be a matter of time. Since they make busses, there are things that happen, of course.
More the reason this mama covers her family in prayer several times each day.
I went back up to walk-in care early this morning. When I changed clothes last night, I noticed some spots on my lower right leg calf that didn’t look right. I wouldn’t have seen them, because the back of my calf is not a place that gets much attention, ya know? But I happened to feel bumps, and there they were. Hmmm. More shingles? We’re not really sure. They kind of look the same, but they don’t. One kind of itches, the others don’t.
I’m an oddity. 😆
So, I’m taking another round of antiviral medication *just in case.* And keeping an eye on the spots.
And with that, I bid you good evening, my friends! Hugs and blessings!
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Dearest Diana,
Glad that John has the habit of getting up from his desk.
That chicken wire is certainly not a good protection…
And those ceiling lights should have safety nets or whatever around that they can’t fall down.
Management needs to be more aware of hazardous areas that could cause huge damage in material, personal injury and of course monetarily.
Let’s hope things go well for all involved!
Hugs,
Mariette
The chicken wire is not protection… it encloses a different small locked space of other tools, file cabinets, etc. The forklift came from the left of his desk (left side of photo), into the pallet and tool chest, and then into the left side of his desk. John would have gotten shoved to his right. No fence between him and what happened. Scary thought. 😱 Yep, the company SHOULD be doing safety fixes, but, unless someone – like OSHA – comes in and inspects, or something happens, nothing will get done. Plenty of companies out there like that. Sad, but true. A safety issue is what killed my other son… it wasn’t taken care of until after he died. // Amen! I hope nothing happens to anyone out there. They’re all good people who work there! Blessings to you, Mariette!
💞
Oh my goodness Diana. John’s angels were certainly protecting him both today and when that light fell. I don’t understand why companies don’t take precautions when they can. The company my husband works for takes safety VERY seriously. Employees even get really nice gifts and awards every year that they don’t have an accident. Guidelines are followed religiously and if you are found to be working unsafely, you will definitely be talked to. As you well know, things can be replaced, people can’t. The owner of his company knows this very well too and all of the employees appreciate it and work better because of it.
I’m so grateful that John wasn’t injured at all. He is such a blessing to you.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
I find it amazing that, in this day and age, companies like this are very far behind in safety measures and still get away with it. Everyone around here knows that this company is only in it for their bottom line… money is their root focus. Yet another company that hides a lot of things and tells their employees not to say anything. We could tell you lots of stories about that. We’re just thankful that the good Lord keeps his protective hand on John! Blessings!
Wow. Working there one needs to be covered in prayer. It is a good thing that John is in the habit of moving whenever the forklifts show up. Trusting God that you are soon recovered from Shingles.
Exactly what my prayers consist of – asking the good Lord to keep His protective hand on John! And thankful John is a very smart guy to move! Thank you so much, Vee!
Oh God bless you, Diana! I can’t even imagine how scary that was, glad your son has some good sense, and gets up every time. Wow. I hope your meds kick in and you don’t have to wrestle with the pain again, wow, when it rains it pours, sometimes. Hugs to you.
Hi Diana,
I am happy your son is ok and moved out of the way as heard the forklifts, it’s a good habit he developed doing that, and thank God it paid off.
We all have a lot of trials and tribulations in this life, Jesus said we would. But I have found praying and believing on 1 Peter 2:24 that we have been healed and made whole has diverted much illness, sickness, and disease in my family. Also, pleading the blood of Jesus on all my family and friends has averted many would be accidents.
I pray like this, after I have repented for my sins, and also apologized to any I have hurt or offended, so I can go before the Lord with a clean conscience and say “I plead the blood on all my family and my home and all the places my family goes and those they come in contact with.” I add, “We were healed and made whole according to 1 Peter 2:24, that no unclean thing can touch us, and no plague can come near our dwelling.” After this, I always declare from the Old Testament that my/our youth is renewed like the eagles. That our natural forces are not abated and our bodies function in the manner God created them to function.” It is all biblical based and you might be interested in for just a few dollars to purchase Charles Capps mini-booklet on healing and all healing confessions.
We have been very, very blessed. I am not saying we do not have trials we all do. But I see you have many things coming one after another and when that has happened to us I have always used spiritual warfare against the devil because he comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus has come to give us life. Jesus wants us to overcome, not to give in to the bad things that happen, but to pray against them.
I am sure you know these things and I am sure you pray, but knowledge is power and the Bible is our instruction on how to live our life.
Blessings to you and yours,
Liz
I’ve actually read a couple of Capps’ books. Interesting, but not something any of us are into. I do believe along the same lines, and do some of the same things. I had an ex-sister-in-law that spoke of some of the same types of things you talked about but on a level that was close to hysteria, she went to a Wesleyan church… she hounded and hounded me and everyone else in my ex’s family to, in her words, “come to her side.” I absolutely do appreciate your words, dear Liz… we handle things by reading God’s word and gaining knowledge from it, and looking to Him for His help and guidance. We may believe and handle things in different ways, and that’s okay. Hugs and blessings to you, my sweet friend!
Well, Diana, please do not compare me to your ex-sister-in-law. I am not a Wesleyan by no means. I am not Methodist. Also, I do not ascribe to religion, it is man’s attempt to please God. Jesus came so we could have a relationship with Him, not any religion. I have followed John Hagee for 25 years (non-denominational) and Kenneth Hagin, Sr. though I believe he was pentecostal. What I believe is not way out, it is Bible-based. So please do not think I am going to force you to believe anything. That is a huge turn-off even for me. It is a shame Christians, in general, cannot get along and believe all the Bible teaches instead of just segments. But all I do is spread the Word, it is not my job to make anyone believe it. So please don’t think I am like your ex-sister-in-law. I wanted to genuinely help.
God bless you, dear friend,
Liz
It was not a comparison, dear Liz. Sorry you took it that way. I was just relating how that person made things hard for people around them. No one knows how really in-depth I am in my relationship with God, which is what I talked about on my birthday post. I appreciated your words, my friend!
Thanks, dear Diana. It is hard sometimes to communicate our thoughts and feelings in comments. Without looking at someone’s face or hearing their inflections one can understandably be misunderstood. Thanks for clarifying! God bless you always! 🙂
Since I work around pallets and such all day–I can tell you getting hurt is a real possibility–one always has to be attentive. Why, just yesterday, I was walking back into the warehouse (after being on the floor of the store) and I was pushing a cart loaded high with empty boxes. ANYWAYS–My boss had left a pallet in the middle of the floor-Yep-and it about broke my neck-I DID NOT SEE THE PALLET. Big no no on his part-leaving the pallet in the middle of the floor. He thought it was funny–I beg to differ.
ANYWAYS–I am so glad John wasn’t hurt. Keeping you in prayer.
Wow, thank goodness you weren’t hurt! When I worked at a greenhouse years ago, we had pallets evvvvvverywherrrrre. Nothing I could do about it because those things were loaded with plants. When plants were sold and gone, I tried to move them apart more so that us workers and the customers wouldn’t trip over them. The lady boss would say, “Don’t move those, we need them close to get more product in to sell more.” So, of sourse, the money was all she thought of, not safety. I was younger then lol, but many customers were older folks and I constantly worried about them. I would always keep watch when they were there and try to make sure they didn’t get hurt. Can’t tell you how many times I personally tripped over those things. Ugh. Thank you for your prayers, Linda!
So very thankful your son wasn’t hurt, and that he had the foresight to move before that accident happened. Wow! Praise God! And yes, it sounds like that company needs to review their safety policies and think more about protecting their employees than their bottom line. All too often companies don’t use good safety practices until they are forced to because of someone’s terrible injury or even death. I am so sorry you’ve already had such a great loss in your family. I can imagine this incident has caused some difficult memories for you. (((hugs))) and prayers for your family.
Yes, ma’am, there have been several “close calls” (not all my family) that have caused some flash backs for all of us just because we love those people and are very close to them. John usually has to handle things like that in his mind (he lives with PTSD) because people do get hurt out there where he’s employed. He’ll usually call me and I will talk him through it and pray. Thank you so much for your prayers, Pamela!! Much appreciated! Hugs!