Monroe County Man Recovers From Frightening Tree-Cutting Fall

As a younger man, Randy Orak was an adventurous sort, a bit of a thrill seeker who would sometimes climb a tree and rig up a hammock 40 feet up just for fun.

His job as a telecommunications fiber splicer frequently had him high in the air in a bucket.

So, it was no surprise last year when Orak decided to gather some friends and tackle the job of cutting down some tall pine trees at his new home. On April 20, 2024, as he neared the end of his tree-cutting day, fate took an ugly turn when he fell about 50 feet to the ground.

He’d taken safety precautions. Hard hat. Check. Harness. Check. Belt. Check. Lanyard. Check.

“I was an over-ambitious homeowner, but I thought everything would be fine,” Orak says.

But there was one misstep, one that could have cost Orak his life. “I was carrying a second rope for my backup tie-in, but it was the end of the day. I was almost done and didn’t tie into the second line,” he says. The rope that was holding him to the tree slipped over a cut in the tree he just made. Without a rope backup, he was in free fall.

“It was the biggest mistake of my life,” Orak says. “I don’t even remember the event that led to me falling. I have a vague memory of everything slowing down in that moment of time when I was free falling.”

Orak’s wife, Abby DeMarco, wasn’t home when her husband fell. She and their then 8-month-old daughter left the house earlier in the day.

“She advised me against it [cutting the trees on his own] many times. I told her I wouldn’t get hurt,” Orak recalls.

Details around and just after the fall are difficult for him to recall, Orak says. He was flown by LVHN–MedEvac to Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Muhlenberg where he first underwent surgery on his lumbar spine to repair two burst fractures in vertebrae in the middle of his back. In a burst fracture, the vertebrae are crushed in all directions.

He also injured his spinal cord, temporarily resulting in a condition called incomplete cauda equina syndrome, where urgency or sensation in the bladder and bowels is lost.

Neurosurgeons first fused the two broken vertebrae, then orthopedic surgeons set about surgically repairing his shattered lower legs. The fall caused multiple fractures in both major bones in each of Orak’s legs.

“The leg injuries were really the most physically devastating to me,” he says.

The first days in the intensive care unit are difficult to recall, and Orak says he was in pain. “I don’t really remember much at all until about the fourth day,” he says. After a week, he was discharged to inpatient rehabilitation. In all, he was in the hospital for more than a month.

As he healed, Orak also dealt with the resulting mental stress. “My overall grieving process was just a lot of sadness. I was feeling like I let my wife and daughter down,” he says.

Orak was wheelchair-bound for two months when he came home. “It was extremely difficult for me,” he says. “It was very frustrating.” In August, he was allowed to start putting weight on his injured legs. He finished physical therapy through Lehigh Valley Health Network in February and says he worked hard to get better. “There was always an element of shock to them in seeing how far I had progressed,” he says. 

Orak says he’s walking much better now, though his feet still hurt from time to time. He’s not back to work yet, but says he’s staying busy doing house projects that include getting a nursery ready for baby number two.

He says he wakes up feeling grateful, but is angry at himself for getting hurt in the first place. “I’m extremely lucky,” he says.

Alison Bruce, CRNP, was on the trauma team the day Orak came to LVH–Muhlenberg. She agrees luck played a role in Orak’s trauma. Had he broken vertebrae near his neck, the outcome could have been fatal. Any fractured vertebrae pose potentially serious problems, she says.

Orak amazingly suffered no head or internal injuries in the accident.

Trauma staff knew almost right away that Orak was someone it would want to recognize as a trauma survivor. “That’s a pretty significant fall, and it’s something we don’t see all the time,” Bruce says. “He’s definitely a determined guy.”

Orak says everyone at LVH–Muhlenberg was great, from doctors to nurses to housekeeping and food. He wants to close the circle with all those people and thank them again.

“I’d like to note the incredible outpouring of support we had from friends and family in the area. There were people who visited, made food, watched our daughter, and more. We were incredibly fortunate to have that network around us,” he says.

Orak was particularly thankful for the love and support of his wife.

“She was incredibly patient and gracious through this whole situation,” he says. “She visited me every single day in the hospital while also caring for our infant daughter. She was there for me the entire time, through and through. She never said, ‘I told you so.’ She’s my rock.”

For Orak, the doctors did their part and now it’s his turn to do his and keep progressing.

“I can do whatever I can tolerate,” he says. “I’ll continue to live life to the fullest, ride the wheels off.”

As for the tall pines that remained to be cut down at Orak’s home last April, a professional arborist came to complete the job.