“The tractor just rolled over me.”
That was how Hillsdale resident Max Dubois, 62, described his recent farming accident. It occurred on Sept. 23 while Dubois was operating his tractor. Now he is facing a long and strenuous road to recovery.
Sergeant Todd Moore was dispatched to 9411 Genesee Road in Litchfield, MI after a report that a local resident had been run over by his own bush hog. According to Moore, medical personnel were already on the scene when he arrived.
Dubois had been using the tractor behind his residence when he ran over logs that had been hidden underneath the tall grass, according to the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department’s press release.
“In hindsight, I should’ve just jumped off, but instead I tried to catch myself,” Dubois said.
According to Dubois, he’s lucky the bush cutter was dull.
“I wouldn’t be here today if I had sharpened it before,” he said.
Dubois was then transported to the University of Michigan health system by West Michigan Air Care of Kalamazoo, where he has undergone four surgeries since the accident.
“It literally ripped a piece out of my back,” Dubois said.
According to Dubois, the next step in his recovery process will include skin grafts, which will go on his back and his leg. His rehabilitation is expected to last at least 6 months, but he will never function like he once did. This reality holds dire consequences for Dubois, whose employment as a trucker depends on his ability to function normally.
“I went from making money to making zero money.” Dubois said, “I don’t really have a plan because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Due to the drawn-out nature of his recovery, Dubois hopes to gradually ease back into everyday life.
“I just have to take it day by day,” he said.