The farmer’s market supplier liked the subsequent improvements.

Meet Henry Brockman Henry Farm, Brockman’s dominates the Evanston Farmers Marketplace. But due to a clash he has not come to the market yet this year. On March 4, Brockman’s tractor crushed him.

On March 28, Brockman wrote a long email to subscribers of his e-newsletter. In it, he described what happened, his excellent fortune and path to treatment, and tentative plans. This is a remarkable story.

The Roundtable spoke to Brockman and his wife, Hiroko, via Zoom on June 26. She is excited, confident, thoughtful, and most of all, deeply grateful.

“I appreciate every day more,” he said.

Nearly 4 months after his concussion, Brockman is in full running condition again, even though he admits that “he’s not as strong, flexible or fast as I was before the accident.” He no longer requires physical therapy, walks without assistance and remains generally enthusiastic about his treatment and age.

Conflict

The Henry Farm is located in Congerville, which is in poor health. He grew up on a farm and always loved the farming era. He has 25 acres of land and every year he uses some part to grow vegetables and the remaining part on fallow land. Brockman said he grows more than 600 types of vegetables. He explains his farming philosophy in his feature Web Page,

In his conflict past, Brockman was once plowing a garden and had to get a tool out of his cut. He parked the tractor near the cut, about 50 feet away from the back door of his house. When he returned to the tractor, Brockman admitted that he made two significant mistakes: he did not pay attention to making sure the tractor was in the idle position before starting it, and he parked in front of the rear tire. . Instead of being inside the driver’s seat.

The first mistake was a lapse in muscle memory that he still doesn’t understand. The second mistake was dangerous at the best of times, but the first mistake turned into an emergency. When he stood on the tractor the wheels started moving in a moment. The lightning immediately struck him in the right rear tire trail.

The tractor, pictured on the left, is a 1720 Ford and weighs approximately 2,500 kg. A 400 pound tiller is attached to the back of it.

He remained conscious throughout the struggle and explained what he was excited about as the rear wheel of the tractor ran over him from his feet to his head.

At this stage, my brain understands what is going on and everything moves in slow motion until an age later. The way the tire grips my footing places me in the haystack in exactly the same order as the tractor is traveling, so I feel the tractor immediately run over my feet. I consider this, “It’s not so bad,” I thought as I didn’t feel like anything was broken. Then the tractor rolled over my hip and I thought, “Oh, this probably wasn’t good.” The tractor was moving beside me and over my shoulder towards my head. And my mind, keeping a working note for me, says, “This could be bad.”

Brockman estimated that it took about 30 seconds for the tractor to roll onto its frame. He “half crawled and half crawled” 50 feet to his back door to alert his wife. Brockman noted, “It was the longest and shortest distance I’ve ever run.”

attending peoria

Their dog, Churro, a 60-pound, 5-year-old soft-mouth, was becoming disoriented, barking like crazy. Because of Churro, Hiroko came to the door and saw her husband. She immediately ran to call 911.

EMTs arrived within minutes, undressed Brockman, checked his vital signs, and loaded him into the ambulance. Hiroko sat in the front seat as they sped to OSF St. Francis Clinical Center in Peoria, a Level 1 injury center.

“I didn’t know how to process what I was seeing,” Hiroko said. He called their daughter, Ezora, from the ambulance to let her know what had happened and where they were going, in case Ezora blocked the house and found no one home.

at the health center

Remarkably, Brockman denied having internal accidents in any of his organs. His pelvis was dislocated, his shoulder dislocated, and he suffered a large gash on his thigh, called a Morel-Lavalley lesion, although his skull protected his brain and his ribs protected his lungs and his middle .

The technician who performed the sonogram of Brockman’s heart told him, “Most farmers are in very poor health. You’ve made it because you’re obviously in really good health and your body is really strong. If you were a grown man, we probably wouldn’t even be having this conversation.

surgery

Brockman is 5 feet, 4 inches tall. His weight during the match was around 140 kg. He wrote in an email that he lost about 15 kg after the fight because he was not active, but he is in the process of losing that weight difference now that he is able to work out again.

An hour after the clash, a surgical operation was performed to insert 3 screws in his pelvis. After a few days, the health center immunized him. His doctors told Brockman that complete healing would likely take 12 to 18 months.

When Brockman was asked if he had worked up the courage to get back on the tractor after his collision, he emailed, “Oh yes, back on it in about a month. Didn’t think twice about it. The accident was my fault, not the tractor’s.”

Morel-Lavallee’s wound took longer to heal and required a distant surgical operation, which he had in Peoria. Due to scheduling problems at the health center, he had to wait about two months later for a second surgical operation, which Brockman estimates would keep him from getting treatment on time for at least two months. Upon reflection, he said, he would have taken the advice of his Evanston friends and had the surgery in Chicago.

“Live and learn,” Brockman wrote.

Henry’s philosophy

When asked if he had a religion that he relied on during this experience, Brockman said that he did not subscribe to any organized religion, but rather felt “a sense of spirituality through nature and farming.” Are.

“Surviving is a spiritual thing. I am so grateful to exist. This experience deepened my appreciation of the very thin line between survival and not survival. I am finding joy in my recovery and joy in the healing process. I know I will get through this. “I appreciate living each day more than the last,” Brockman said.

He wants to go back to the Evanston Farmers Marketplace. They hope to be there in September with autumn greenery. For now, Henry Farms’ plants are growing and harvesting is taking good care of the 220 families who have signed up to receive a weekly basket of farm-fresh produce for 26 weeks during the farm’s Crowd Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Had signed for.

Brockman stressed that he and his public had no desire for the Move Invest Me marketing campaign. They have excellent insurance coverage, lots of public assistance, and cash in the coffers. He is alright. He recognizes every card, email and outstanding needs.

Brockman said, “This experience has also taught me how important it is that we are connected, not only through the food we eat, but through our relationships with each other as people. Are also connected to.”