‘Praying for you both, this is insane’: Firefighter has tree fall on his head due to co-worker’s negligence, results in life-changing injuries

With some jobs, the risk of dangerous accidents happening cannot be ruled out, sadly, but in these cases you have to largely rely on the support of your co-workers. Like, for instance, if you were a wildland firefighter, whose job it is to protect your community from wildfires. In this career path, you must have to put a lot of faith in the fact that your colleagues have got your back, and trust that you are a team.

In a truly shocking and heartbreaking story, however, it sounds like one man’s co-workers reacted with extreme and shameful negligence when he received a serious injury on the job, and their negligence may end up affecting him for the rest of his life. TikTok user @holliehelvey has shared what her fiancé has gone through over the past few months, and your heart will go out for this young 24-year-old couple stuck in a traumatic situation through no fault of their own.

In short, Hollie’s fiancé was at work chopping trees in Oregon when a felled tree collapsed on top of him. Hollie explains that it was his colleague who performed an illegal “bastard cut,” which caused the tree to fall the wrong way, connecting with his head. Remarkably, he was not knocked unconscious, so after merely asking him if he was OK, rather than performing a proper medical evaluation, his supervisor kept him working. Hollie’s fiancé experienced a progressively worsening headache throughout the day, but when he expressed this, he was not allowed to leave.

Hours later, he was driven home by his co-workers, but while he had passed out in the back of the car, his colleagues… decided to go get ice cream. Finally, upon reaching home Hollie immediately saw he was “not OK,” by the look of his eyeballs alone, so she drove him to the E.R. The doctors there were obviously shocked that he was hit by a tree at 9am, but it took until 6pm for him to reach the hospital.

Sadly, that was just the beginning of Hollie and her fiancé’s problems. In the following weeks, he started suffering from seizures — which they were originally told were harmless “panic attacks” — and after seeing eight different neurologists and undergoing an MRI scan, it’s still unclear exactly what the problem is. After having facing various issues with insurance, finding care, and legal hurdles, Hollie and her fiancé are now desperate for both financial support and clues as to what he is suffering from.

As devastating as Hollie’s story is to hear, this is one of those occasions where the supportive side of TikTok comes out. Everyone agrees that the firefighter’s colleagues displayed a reprehensible level of negligence — “The fact that they didn’t IMMEDIATELY take him to the emergency room is shameful,” as one rightly put it — and others are thankfully in a position of experience to aid them.

“Oh baby,” wrote one kind commenter. “I’m sharing this with my ex yes ex husband that is a firefighter with Nashville. We will hopefully raise money for you.” Someone else shared: “My husband is a wildland firefighter of 15+ years and I am a paralegal of 22 years. I’ll share this with my husband and my advice would be to consult another attorney immediately!”

Another advised Hollie to make sure as many people know about this as possible: “Call as many news stations as you can. Go public. Get this as much attention as you possibly can. Go viral go public go everywhere you can. Get this out there. They can’t hide from the world.”

As for what could be ailing Hollie’s fiancé, one user suggested he may have developed light sensitivity. “I have epilepsy and find covering my eyes and taking Dramamine (for motion sickness) can help,” they suggested. “I was thinking it’s the flashing lights!” another user agreed. “I have hemiplegic migraines and NES and lights flickering triggers them.”

It’s heartening to know Hollie and her fiancé can rely on the kindness of strangers, even if they tragically couldn’t rely on the kindness of his co-workers.