Monday, August 16, 2010

trees

how often do you stand or walk under a coconut tree? not often, considering there can't be many coconut trees in town.

and how often have you actually witnessed a falling coconut? even less, i'd think.


so it's utterly unfortunate to have a coconut fall on your head, like this 60-yr-old lady in ICU now. she's recuperating from surgery for a big bleed into her brain but her recovery will not be complete for she will not fully gain control over some parts of her body.


trees are useful - they provide shade, bear fruits & make up part of a green lung in cities. heck, you can't have a tree house without a tree & where would tarzan be without one?


but the downside is that they sometimes topple on you, your car or house. & you really don't want to take shelter from one in a thunderstorm.


so watch out for the coconuts.

or durians.

talk about the wrong place & the wrong time.

17 comments:

Reanaclaire said...

Poor lady...yes, what a wrong timing.. it must be extremely painful.. next time we better be careful too when walking under them...

iml said...

Most unfortunate.

iml said...

Most unfortunate.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about durians too. That would be disastrous.

Hello Kitty said...

I feel so sorry for the woman. I can't imagine if it was a durian.

May I ask, doc - why would her recovery not be complete, and why would she not fully gain control over some parts of her body? I had a friend who had a wooden plank fall on his head some years ago in an accident. He never went to see a doctor as there was no bleeding etc. He's alright now but I wondered from time to time whether there were any non-physical or non-visible side effect or damage that could have been caused by the accident.

missyc said...

oh dear hope she recovers must be terrible to have something fall on the head.

and to think during teenage years, I used to watch naughty boys steal coconuts at the seaside, the trees didn't belong to anyone so its not a sin :D & somehow we knew how to avoid the coconuts & LOL..

doc said...

Claire,

yes, be very careful - avoid walking under trees bearing fruits, if possible.

doc said...

Iml,

yes, most unfortunate.

doc said...

Mei Teng,

that would be most painful & damaging!!

doc said...

Kitty,

she is still in ICU on a respirator.

as a result of damage to the brain from the impact as well as the internal bleeding, she may not be able to control one side of her body. it's in effect like a stroke.

your friend was fortunate because the impact was not severe enough to make him unconscious or cause internal bleeding. he got away scot-free & is unlikely to have any harmful effect.

doc said...

MissyC,

those teenage years were care-free ones, weren't they??

ilene said...

Oh dear! Life should be a breeze now for a lady of her age but instead .... Such a sad situation. But you know what, if they know who planted that particular tree, they could sue the owner for damages.

doc said...

Ilene,

i couldn't agree with you more. no one has actually looked at litigation but i doubt if that would happen. how to prove ownership of the tree??

ilene said...

That's the tough part DOC - having to prove ownership!

doc said...

Ilene,

that's why i think this route won't be pursued.

Unicorn Girl said...

Oh my goodness !!! hard to believe about this poor 60 year old . Now I should be more vigilant since there stands a high coconut tree at the right side of my house compound - & yes - I live smack in the heart of the city - in the golden triangle area.

doc said...

UG,

watch out for those coconuts! while looking upwards, be careful of uncovered manholes!!