Tree Climber Suffers Bizarre Injury

4/11/13 Colby Ellis: Tree climber suffers bizarre injury when a branch punctures his face | Mail Online

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208775/Colby-Ellis-Tree-climber-suffers-bizarre-injury-branch-punctures-face.html 1/9

A branch punctured my face! Tree climbersuffers bizarre injury that's sure to raise a feweyebrows

By Chris Murphy

PUBLISHED: 09:07 GMT, 26 September 2012 | UPDATED: 10:49 GMT, 26 September 2012

Tree tops are for the birds as this man found out when he took his eye off the dangers and nearly lost hissight.

But Colby Ellis just couldn't resist the temptation to climb some mountain timbers, and almost paid theultimate price when he slipped.

A small branch pierced the fleshy parts under his left eyebrow, and an even smaller trig almost took out theeyeball itself.

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Leaf it out: Colby Ellis in hospital after a small branch pierced the fleshy parts under

his left eye-brow

But while these hospital snaps may have made your legs tingle just a little, the good news he has made afull recovery.



And it still hasn't put him off climbing tree.

The 22-year-old said: 'I am currently doing seasonal work in the Nantahala Gorge in North Carolina.

'I give zip line tours at the Nantahala Gorge Canopy tours, but this accident had nothing to do with work.

'A co-worker, Micah Loyd, and I had the day off and decided to go explore the mountain. I spotted a seriesof vines going up a tree and decided to climb them.

'When I was about five feet up, the vine gave way. I landed on my feet but when I bent to absorb thelanding, a branch punctured my face.

Gruesome: The 22-year-old was left w ith a branch above his eye after the accident



Injured: Colby Ellis recovering in his hospital bed after he had the branch removed

'I was very shocked the first few moments, but luckily Micah and I are both trained in first aid, so we knew



not to take it out.

'Or for that matter to move my eye in case the smaller stick went into the eyeball itself. Micah was great helpkeeping me calm and leading me through the woods to the road.

'Someone stopped and gave him a ride to get his vehicle so we could take that to the hospital.

'I did not want to pay for an ambulance if I could help it as they are quite expensive here. We then drove tothe hospital in nearby Bryson, but they don't have a trauma centre.

'Staff there were great and stabilised the injuries and sent me in an ambulance to Mission hospital inAsheville.

'Once there, they were able to remove both sticks successfully. Amazingly, I still had my full vision. After thatI just needed a few sets of stitches and an eye patch and I was ready to go.

'The swelling is starting going down now and the doctor did a great job getting everything stitched up. I willhave a scar to remind me to be more careful.

'I stayed pretty calm throughout the ordeal, I knew that getting worked up would only raise my bloodpressure and cause more bleeding so I tried to just focus on my breathing.

'His dad Robert was on the phone constantly during the hospital visit to make sure his son was OK.'

Mr Ellis said: 'He really wanted to come pick me up from our hometown of Valdosta, in south Georgia, abouteight hours away, but I wouldn't let him because I knew everything would be fine and there was no need forhim to come all that way.

'All in all, I feel very fortunate to be able to see out of both eyes and to be alive. If I had fallen an inchbehind me the bigger branch could have easily went through my socket and into my brain.

'It also confirms that life is short, so treasure everyday because you never know if it will be your last. Thewhole thing was really intense.'

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Comments (11)

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oooooohhhhh, my bits have tensed up!!! Lucky lad!

- John H , Bolton, United Kingdom, 26/9/2012 14:06

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OUCH....he is a very lucky lad.....

- mummyof5 , manchester, 26/9/2012 13:57


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Ouch!!!!

- Di , Wellingborough, United Kingdom, 26/9/2012 13:11


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Ouch!! @Paul Spider, If there was a God, he wouldn't have let him slip surely? Would have been easier.

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- JFearn91 , Nottingham, 26/9/2012 12:24


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I could not keep calm with that in my eye

- Weena , kent, United Kingdom, 26/9/2012 12:18


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Uffffff.....that looks painful!

- Gemedes , London, United Kingdom, 26/9/2012 11:58


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- Paul Spider , london, United Kingdom, 26/9/2012 10:29......or pushed him out of the tree!!!

- Mr Flibble , UK, 26/9/2012 11:58

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No ambulance & passed from one hospital to another. Sounds oddly familiar. Lucky escape though. Maybe next time he'll beable to see the wood for the trees!

- Gojira , Darlaston, 26/9/2012 11:51


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Oh my word. He is SO lucky not to have lost his eye!!

- SD , Surrey, 26/9/2012 11:34


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A ship is safe in a harbour but thats not what ships were built for

- Kate , The North, 26/9/2012 11:33


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Tree Climber Suffers Bizarre Injury