Taken ill whilst tramping

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

We’ve a subbie who comes over from South Wales and works for us for the week then goes home for his 45. Well one night last week he had such bad toothache he had another subbie from the same company get some plyers on his tooth and pull it out but to no avail.
Anyway he was in so much pain he tried to do it himself and ended bursting an abscess he had because the other subbie watching described puss flying out his mouth. I think he finished his 9 off and headed up the dental hospital in the morning.

So any of you trampers been quite badly struck down with something and was hospitalized ?

2

Once shut my finger in the side door on a lwb sprinter and could not reach the handle to open the door as I shut it in the back edge of door, silly really as I pushed door shut from back edge, was doing night deliverys and phone was in cab, after 2 hours waiting I ended up pulling it free, dislocating finger, twisted top section off, claret everywhere , drove myself to hospital.

3

Bloody nora, hope he’s on my side in a punch up, get them pliers on the job…respect.

Never been hospitalized on the job, but should have been several times, went straight off the top of the trailer when a chain tensioner slipped, ended up with severe bruising and sprained wrist luckily no breakages, boss put me on light duties for two weeks driving a rolonoff skip wagon. :open_mouth: .
Slipped through the decking from transporter top deck, caught meself by chipping both elbows, still carried on working and still give me gyp.
Split me head open on a gantry when loading leather, no problem wrap a rag round it and drove 4 hours home with blood pouring down me face.
Dozens more incidents come to mind…oh and no claimsRus either.

Unbelievable how stupid we were, or were we made of tougher stuff then and accepted that the odd belt and breakage is part and parcel of lorry driving, it never was a place for wimps.

4

not tramping but had a heart attack whilst on the aa recovery trucks, car on the back two passengers on board. i was lucky no collapsing but pain real bad, near hospital so drove straight in a&e . in about 11.00 back in ward job done by 15.00 . the aa had taxi for passengers within 15 mins , car on another truck in 40 mins and a driver from my depot that had just signed in came out with his car loaded it and took it back to the yard. lucky or what. aa did not want me back though so back on the bang trucks.lol

5

There was a bloke on the telly a few years back, was doing continental work, mostly Germany, Poland and a bit of Russia. He had a brain haemorage whilst in Poland and he managed to drive himself as far as Germany to seek medical attention
It was on one of those 999 type programmes

6

mick.mh2racing:
There was a bloke on the telly a few years back, was doing continental work, mostly Germany, Poland and a bit of Russia. He had a brain haemorage whilst in Poland and he managed to drive himself as far as Germany to seek medical attention
It was on one of those 999 type programmes

■■■■■■ hell :open_mouth:

7

I came down with ‘Bells Palsy’ whilst out tramping, had a haz load on as well so ended up with three traffic cars, an ambulance and a lane coned off whilst being seen to. Got taken off to hospital straight away, luckily though was only an hour and a half away from our main base so the vehicle got recovered and a driver came down to the hospital to keep me company until I was discharged!

8

I got stung by a wasp in Arnhem on Tuesday night by Thursday morning I was in a doctors in Oostkamp in Belgium because my arm swelled right up … I was prescribed anti-bio tics and steroids .
Big thanks to TN member Rokeen for sorting me out!

9

My father was tipping in Newark the comet RDC,went a bit off colour and passed out in his truck outside.The security guard knew something wasn’t right and called the emergency services they arrived and took him to hospital,he had a stomach ulcer that had burst and if it wasn’t for the guy in the security hut in Newark then they said my father wouldn’t be here now.

10

Loading steel in Sydney, a chain tensioner slipped, I went arse over elbow back off the edge of a flat trailer, landed on a scaffolding pole sticking up on a nearby trolley and punctured my right lung. Off to hospital within minutes… very short of breath and with breathing difficulties, spent two weeks there and then drove the unit home to Melbourne bobtail! Still have the scar where they cut into my chest to relieve the pressure on the lung.

11

Havnt had anything serious happen apart a nail going into my foot, other than alot of blood sorted it out myself and got a few bandages of the first aider on site.

I am very careful when out though, wont lift anything really heavy and wont take any unnesscary risks, really dont wont to be stuck in a hospital along way from home.

12

I think many of us have had a few memorable trips where we have had to do an emergency stop every mile or so, jump out of the cab and run under the trailer on the hard shoulder at full speed to ■■■■ rusty water out of our arses. :wink:

13

Back in the late 70s i was delivering in Birming ham and within an hour of feeling ill i was so weak i could hardly stand.Turned out i had a kidney infection, pyelonephritus?
Off work for nearly a month.Would not want to repeat.

14

Put my back out at work, and was on cherrypickers at the time. Got the customer to help me stow the machine and got myself in the cab and was OK sitting up and driving but that was it.

Back at the yard I managed to get my gear out with some colleagues help and was driven home. Had told the office but they were disinclined to beleive me. It’s not like I’d had ANY sickies with that company even. Went straight to the Doc who got me a sick note for a week and got me over to a back doc privately directly (that afternoon) who gave my back a few stretching exercises and I felt a crunch and a pop and then I could move again!

Sick note was for 4 weeks, took that into the office. Offered to only take a week sick leave to rest my back but the doc said I was to keep it warm with pressure off it so light duties after that. It was about then I reminded her that I was off in a week for 3 weeks in Spain for a family holiday…

Also came down with food poisoning a few months later, well, some bug. A weird one. I got weak at work and struggled to do anything. The return journey had me feeling so tired I could barely do anything and had to stop twice on the way back for a nap. Ate normally, enough fluids in me and slept normally overnight. Got back to the yard and sat down in the office waiting for the boss to get the paperwork done for the drivers the next day. I had told her I couldn’t work as I was struggling to stay awake so she gave me light duties.

Woke up to an ambulance crew giving me oxygen and some reflex test. Trip to the hospital, a few tests, and sent home later. That was a Thursday. About the Tuesday I started to feel more alive again and ravenously hungry. The kitchen was a mess and I’d run out of clean bowls and cutlery and all my tinned goods and cereals had run out…

Back at work on Thursday and was given a few ‘long’ runs to test I was OK and that was it for a while.

As for accidents, well.

I’ve had my shoulder yanked out of its socket by a curtainsider… That hurt, was off for 4 weeks. Broke my mobile, landed on it :frowning: Office very supportive, but they sent a 4x4 HGV to bring me home. Ok, one armed, weak and feeble, how the heck do I get up the 5 steps to the cab■■?

Thankfully the driver was a strong bloke :wink:

Another time I neglected to look up as I jumped between two cherrypickers parked side by side and hadn’t noticed the driver had cradled the boom. Hell that hurt, and apparently was chucking the red stuff out everywhere. Dribbled it all the way inside to the office to find out where the first aid box was then had to self medicate.

Got the smelling salts out as well as the boss had collapsed at the sight of blood, and felt fine after a while so got on with some driving…

Look where you leap, don’t walk into danger without looking, metal vs me and metal will win…

Not done much tramping yet but have been mostly day work with occasional overnights… Perhaps I don’t count?!

15

Chopped top of my finger off on a dustcart in the bin lift lucily they sewed it back on after getting a black cab to hospital.
Broke my thumb opening a roll on bin on a landfill site at 3pm and I was going on holiday to Spain at 7pm. Strapped it but still gives me Gip at times now.

16

nothing too serious just few stomach bugs try getting out of renault magnum in hurry when wake up in middle of night needing to puke up …not best of landings on concrete lol

17

Managed to have a seizure in my cab one night when I was down South, woke up in the morning, felt awful, couldnt move my left arm and noticed there was blood all over my pillow, and half my tounge was missing :confused: :confused:, managed to do my drop and rang my boss and told him what had happened and told him that he had two choices, 1) I come back empty and then go to the hospital or 2) go straight to the hospital and he could possibly lose his wagon for a few days, no suprise really he chose number one, It took me 9 hours to drive a Magnum home with one arm, luckily it was automatic, got back and then went to the hospital, I managed to fracture my collar bone and a bone in my arm :frowning: :frowning:

18

I don’t do tramping, I’m too pretty for that. I have had a dental abscess though, so I feel your colleague’s pain and I understand his desire to remove the offending tooth himself.

Dental abscesses are the worst imaginable pain; worse than childbirth, so I’m told. But I’ve never given birth to a child so I can’t say for sure. All I know is that they [zb]ing hurt like hell.

Mine flared up one night when I was driving back from Newcastle to Mansfield. If someone had offered to smash my head off with a shovel that night, I would have gladly taken them up on that offer without hesitation.

Unfortunately, no such offer was forthcoming on the A1 at 3am. I went to A&E on my return to The Shire and was told there would be a minimum five hour wait. There was only one doctor on duty and it had been a busy night for glassings in Mansfield.

I decided to go home, drink a litre of whiskey and take a whole pack of Neurofen instead. I slept really well and got an emergency dentist’s appointment the next day.

I hope this helps.

19

If you are ill then go straight to Aand E DON’T chuffin mince about with the bloody Truck FFS…and don’t worry about what the ‘Boss’ might think, the majority wont even bother going to your funeral!!!
I’m a Tramper and ended up 5 days in Peterborough Hospital with Campylabactia from eating dodgy chicken off a service station on the a34 near oxford…as it turned out Ive got ulcerative colitis…

20

Deepinvet:
If you are ill then go straight to Aand E DON’T chuffin mince about with the bloody Truck FFS…and don’t worry about what the ‘Boss’ might think, the majority wont even bother going to your funeral!!!

I totally agree.