11/04/24
February 16, 2013
Carl Pavano Almost Died After Snow-Shoveling Fall: Minnesota Twins pitcher Carl Pavano said that the freak accident he suffered Jan. 12 while shoveling snow was nearly fatal. Pavano, 37, fell and jammed his midsection on a shovel handle at his Vermont home. He didn't know for four days that he'd lacerated his spleen. Surgery was performed at a Connecticut hospital after he went into shock, his blood count plummeted and his lung collapsed. "He said I was on borrowed time," Pavano said a family doctor told his wife, urging Pavano to go to a trauma center at once. "I was hours away from going into cardiac arrest and probably wouldn't even be here." A free agent, he doesn't know if he'll be able to pitch this season. "Right now, that's the last thing I'm worried about," he said.
Truly a weird event, but when you are working on a slippery surface, lifting a heavy load, and bending your body at some strange angles, a seemingly simple accident can become quite serious. I do wonder why anyone living in Vermont who has even modest financial means would not buy a snow blower. Unless you get really stupid and override the safety devices, it's pretty hard to hurt yourself with one of these.
posted by Howard_T at 02:27 PM on February 18, 2013
Insane how a seemingly simple injury like that -- something no doubt many of us have done -- could lacerate a spleen. Perforated by a rib perhaps?