Dennis Tinkham Update

L

LBRUNO

New member
I just got off the phone with Dennis, he was in New York City in the waiting room of an eye surgeon waiting to be seen. Unfortunately there is a lot of blood covering the eyeball which is blocking his vision. The doctors are not willing to clear the blood for fear of doing further damage but they hope to be able to operate very soon. Nothing conclusive weather he will have any vision in the future.
Dennis was very emotional over the hazards of the small rods which many shooters are carrying to dislodge a bullet. If you are one of these shooters do yourself a favor and dispose of it. Also we talked of a new rule being proposed for both organizations to consider asap. Please keep him in your prayers.

Lester Bruno
 
I wish Dennis the best of luck. I have a blind spot in the center of my left eye's vision and if anything ever happens to my right eye ............:(


Anything we place in the bore has the potential to kill us. We have all seen the pics of the blown up rifles from boresighter arbors, cleaning rods, etc. You just have to work in an orderly fashion. The second you are done with the potential bore obstructing tool you MUST place it back in it's storage place. RIGHT THEN. Not after you fish the bullet out of the action, BEFORE. Then double check it.
 
Ironically, the AccurateShooter Bulletin has a write up these from yesterday. It suggest these are a "can't live without them" item. I would beg to differ.

tiny
 
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6mmbr bulletin

6mmbr is currently promoting the drop rods in the daily bulletin.

I was at the skeet range one day, when a shooter blew up one of his barrels on an over and under shotgun. Problem - stuck wad. He knew he had a stuck wad. But decided to continue the round, shooting singles only. But by the time he got to #7 station, he forgot. Shooting a double blew his gun, and when I saw him a few of minutes later, he still looked quite pale. Fortunately, no one was injured. He should have retreated to his truck to clear the obstruction. If he would have had a drop rod handy, the accident probably would have been prevented. Still no excuse.

I believe alot of shotgunners probably keep this device handy. I've never used one. I never really cared for the idea.
 
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Dennis Tinkham

I spoke to Dennis today also. I think he has a good doctor and a good chance of repairing his eye. He agreed, and said at least a better doctor than back in Arkansas.
Sometimes we are put in the hands of one of those very few surgeons who can do what seems impossible.
One of those very few saved my life 7 years ago. I thank God for him.

...Dave
 
I agree with Lester that these short rods have no place among our equipment used for benchrest.

I was at the range on the same day Doc Wazniak had the same thing happen. He used a short rod to dislodge a stuck bullet from his barrel. Unfortunately, he forgot to remove the rod from the barrel before firing the next round. When the next round was fired the excessive pressure caused a ruptured case and pieces of the case and extracter were forced back into his eye and into his brain. He left the bench, went back to his trailer and told his wife to take him to get medical help. He eventually lost conciousness, had brain swelling, surgery, and a few days later was removed from life support.

The piece of rod was found 80 yds. downrange.

Now this same type of thing has happened again, only our good friend Dennis, by the grace of God, will survive.

This is the kind of thing that a forgetful person like myself would do. So I have taken precautions. I carry a full length cleaning rod in my range cart, complete with handle and a piece of bright colored ribbon attached. This way I will not forget to remove the rod if I need to use it.

The people who sell these rods should stop.

The people who have these rods should get rid of them.

The people who see others using these rods should be a friend and explain things to the one using the rod.

Our sport has been safe for many people for many years. We don't want to mess up our good reputation or see anyone else injured or killed.

Please, friends, do the safe thing! GET RID OF THOSE RODS!!!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Larry Feusse
 
Hope everything turns out good for Dennis. Does anyone know if his bolt had a sako style extractor?

Zach
 
Praying for full recovery.

Dennis, we are all pulling for you and praying for a full recovery. Hang in there and we will see you at a match soon. James Mock
 
Thanks to all

I haven't had access to the internet since my accident on Friday 8/22/08 except for about an hour the day after the accident. I saw a lot of messages starting to come in at that time wishing me well, but have not been able to try and thank you all. Today, as I have a computer to use and am not in too much pain I have had some time to look at these at these responses.....I am overwhelmed at all of the prayers and good wishes you all have posted. For someone like me who is usually giving you all a bad time, it really softens my heart.

Today is Sat. 8/30/08, and I am in NY city where I have been since last Tuesday when I flew here from Arkansas where I had the accident. There are highly-regarded retinal surgeons here who are watching over me. I have one metal projectile (about 6mm long) on the outside of my right eye ball (but in the orbital cavity) which managed to sneak over the top of my reading glasses (you're right, no shooting glasses on) which I had on when the gun blew up. The projectile is probably brass, but don't know yet for sure. It grazed the right side of my right eyeball and caused some of the vitreal fluid to start oozing out, and was repaired during emergency surgery in Arkansas. Since this projectile is not inside the eyeball, it is not of immediate concern to the surgeons.

The biggest concern is the blood in my eye due mainly to the high concussion during the explosion. The blood is between the lens and the retina, and is also between the retina and the back of the eye. Blood is toxic to the retina, so don't know how much damage has already been done so far. The blood is "clottish" or coagulated and hard to suck out without tearing the retina. The surgeons are waiting for the blood to thin out before operating....this may be next week hopefully.

The pain has decreased some, but I am still on Percoset (high-powered pain pills). I have no vision from the right eye at this time due mainly to the blood inside. My fingers are crossed for next week.

In spite of my initial belief that most of the energy from the explosion came out the gas ports, Jerry Stiller (who makes the Viper) believes that most of the energy came out around the gap between the bolt and the barrel and came down the race-way into my face. The gun looked perfectly normal after the incident and the bolt was closed (really closed). I managed to beat the bolt open with a rubber mallet and then hammer it back so I could see the lugs.....they were very twisted and distorted. I didn't have much time to look at it more carefully, but I think I saw the case welded to the chamber.

Something to think about......if your port is on the same side of the bolt as your eye looking into the port..........

Thank you all again for your prayers and best wishes.

P.S. Don't use anything in your barrel except very long rods with large well-marked handles that will stick out the end of the barrel.
 
Dennis,
I'm relieved to know that your gonna make it through this ordeal alive. You still got a long way to go with the eye surgery and our prayers will now be directed towards your full vision recovery.
I'm putting together a "have some fun" care package to send to you while you are getting ready for surgery. So far I've got a basketball,some silly putty,a bottle of that blow some bubbles soap stuff,a squirt gun,a pirate eye patch and a plastic cutlass with a wide black patent leather belt and scabbard,a droopy dog "pez" candy dispenser , some of that black jack chewing gum , a coloring book and the 64 count crayola crayons box with the built in sharpener. If there is anything else you need ,don't hesitate to ask !
Joel
 
Dennis Eye damage

Last November a rifle exploded in my face and I was blind in the right eye for 9 weeks. The brass went through the eye damaged the retina and proceeded into the back wall of the eye. It took 3 major operations to restore me to 20/40. Here is some insight into your future.
Not much pain involved in the operations but siginificant discomfort.
There will be times after the surgery when you will itch like hell.
And most importantely the healing takes time. After the surgery it took me 3 months for siginificant sight to return.
I am glad you got to NY for the surgery because Prayers and a good surgeon are the key to sucess. Oh, one more thing you will have about 5 different type of drops to take many times a day.
Will keep you in our prayers and so glad you are in the hands of great doctors.
Paul Ryan
 
Hey Tink, we are just thankful that you are still with us.
Who would we have to fuss with. Take care and we'll all pray.
 
Dennis, thanks for the update. You are on my mind and in my prayers. I know you are in good hands and there are many of us who are praying for your complete recovery.

Every one of us must remember that if it can happen to someone like you, it could happen to any of us, any day. Safety must be our number one priority.

Please keep us informed.

Your friend

Gene Beggs
 
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