Paging Acme Orthopedics....

Periodically in the ER I encounter what I call "Wile E. Coyote" injuries.  They take various forms but the basic definition is a man, and its always a man, tries something that seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do.  But really is not.

For instance.  I saw a good sized fellow who needed to get something out of the rafters of a pole barn.  That's a ways up, so a ladder was needed.  Ok, up the ladder he goes.  But the object is still just a little out of reach.  So, he leans just a little further out.  And the ladder slips out from under him.  At this point he is still ok, because he is holding onto the rafters.  Tightly.

But this is only a temporary reprieve, he can't hold on indefinitely.  And if his wife were near enough for him to summon her she would have been near enough to sense this folly and put the spousal kibosh on it, pronto.

Eventually he just has to let go and try to avoid landing on the ladder.

Regards the denouement of this little vignette, lets just not go there.  It could have been worse, at least the object up in the rafters did not subsequently fall on him.

If he were in for the Full Wile E., it would have.  And it would have been an anvil.