Dear Editor,

On February 20, at my home, life started like most mornings; get up, pick up the newspaper, read part of it and go to the computer to check what Dandy Don had to say.

I stopped in the kitchen for a filling breakfast and then went outside to find a job to do. On this day, I selected a pressure washer to clean the north side of the house, which accumulated a green scum. That went well and I moved to the gazebo. That small building required a good washing to be able to do a good job of painting.

I moved my suction hose and hooked it to the faucet. The discharge hose was ready to go. I started the motor and waited for the pressure to build up. That was taking too long, so I stopped the motor and tied up the safety valve.

This was the biggest mistake I could have made. With the valve tied down, the pump keeps pumping. It was almost noon and I wanted to stop for lunch. Instead of untying the safety valve, I chose to stop the motor. I placed my left hand halfway up the wand to control it better. I reached over to turn off the switch with my right hand. In so doing, the end of the wand crossed over and the blast of water cut my right arm real bad. What I saw was blood and ground meat.

I think one second longer and I would have lost my arm. The minute it cut my arm I put my shirt on it and applied pressure. That didn’t help much. The artery was really pumping my blood out. I yelled for my daughter, Darnel. She came running and tore my shirt off, wrapped my arm and held it up.

Two parish workers from the sewerage and water department saw what happened and turned around to check on me. My daughter yelled to call 911. They went toward John L. Ory School, where they had seen two deputies. Deputies Calla and Duroncelett came to help. My son-in-law, Larry called 911. The firemen, EMTs and ambulance arrived. I was taken to the hospital in LaPlace.

I remember when the tourniquet was applied the doctor would tell the nurse, “not yet, tighten some more, and OK we’ve got it.” The trip to New Orleans in that ambulance was awful to me because I was hurting so badly. When we arrived at the hospital the surgeon and his team were waiting for me.

He saw the cut and told my wife Gayle and my children he would try to repair the artery. If not, he would go into my leg to get an artery. The operation was a success and I am now recovering

I want to remind or inform anyone who operates electric or pneumatic tools to be careful. I’ve been using pressure washers for almost 50 years and I made such a stupid mistake. I could have lost my arm and even my life.

I certainly want to thank everyone who helped, and responded so quickly and the medical staffs at Ochsner LaPlace and Ochsner Main Campus. Thank you!

The moral of this story is do not take a short cut. Do not tie off safety valves or any safety equipment; they are there to protect you.

Roland Clement

LaPlace