Dedham Native Rehabs From Four-Story Fall, East Dedham Rallies to Help

Nearly 40 feet in the air on his bucket truck, Erik DeAvila pulled out his well-padded black Blackberry, navigated to the camera and snapped “today’s view” and sent it, as he always did, to his wife Heather.

But “today” – July 7 – would soon look different for the Dedham native and small business owner as he nearly got electrocuted and fell four stories to the pavement below.

DeAvila didn’t injure his head, neck or spine in the fall, and remains at a 24/7 rehabilitation center in Walpole. Childhood friends from a “tight-knit” East Dedham are rallying to raise money to help offset medical costs of the freak accident.

Losing Control

While doing an “easy, quick job” on Lowder Street, the tree specialist felt the boom move just a bit, but enough to shift a piece of plywood on the truck down below. The plywood then lodged itself tight between the truck and the bottom control panels – rendering the controls in the bucket useless.

The plywood pushed on a lever that raised the boom, and DeAvila ducked down, arms braced against the fiberglass rectangle. Power lines with thousands of volts dangled inches from his head.

“If I touched anything – that would’ve been it,” said DeAvila. “I thought I was going to get electrocuted.”

His co-worker on the ground tried to dislodge the plywood, but couldn’t. He raced to the other side of the truck to shut it off, but before he could, a wire slashed through the bucket and DeAvila fell to the ground.

The next thing DeAvila remembers is waking up three days later in the ICU of Beth Israel Hospital with Heather by his bedside.

“I woke up with her holding my hand and the doctor holding my thigh trying to get something to stop bleeding,” he said.

Luckiest 40-foot Fall

The owner of DeAvila Tree and Landscape said he doesn’t remember the fiberglass shattering, or plunging the four stories onto Lowder Street. He doesn’t remember talking with paramedics – he is only told what happened.

“We figured out how I landed because of the damage,” said DeAvila during an interview this week.

DeAvila landed on his left side. He shattered his pelvis as it broke in eight places and cut arteries inside like it was shrapnel. His left arm suffered a compound fracture. He had a concave blister, probably from hitting a power line on his way out. He cracked four ribs and bruised both lungs – making any movement excruciatingly painful.

“It’s almost like a scene out of Final Destination. Death tried to come to take me. I couldn’t even believe it happened,” DeAvila said.

When Heather heard that paramedics took her husband of almost two years to the ER, she raced from her job in Rhode Island to be at his side.

First, doctors pumped pints of plasma and blood into DeAvila, and performed surgery to stop the internal bleeding. Then he received plates and screws in his left arm, and lastly doctors began to repair his busted pelvis.

Today’s View

Now DeAvila spends two hours with physical therapists at the Walpole center, working on bending his left arm – currently able to make a 90-degree angle, but unable to pull it closer – and on moving his left leg and foot.

“I have a lot of nerve damage – both for my motor skills and feeling,” DeAvila said.

Late last week, DeAvila maneuvered himself from his bed to a wheelchair on his own – a giant step toward going home.

“They’ve made a lot of improvements on my leg. They hook me up to a machine that shocks the nerves in my legs,” he said.

Visitors swing by every now and then, whether it’s Heather and their two sons – who bring a guitar and Coca-Cola – or an uncle or his two daughters.

He stays up with more than 400 friends on Facebook, and even checks on his business from his phone.

“I’ve had customers come to see me – it’s been just phenomenal,” he said.

‘Tight-Knit’ East Dedham

Knowing that medical bills won’t stop when DeAvila leaves Walpole, friends from Dedham joined together and initiated at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26, at American Legion Post 18.

The goal is to raise $10,000 through silent auctions, raffles, donations and an entry fee of $10.

DeAvila said friends wanted to keep it a secret, but as popularity of a Facebook page grew, they had to bring him and Heather into the loop.

“I was still in shock with everything that was going on because this was a huge, huge life-change for us.  I am very grateful for his friends, because when I wasn’t thinking about this, they were,” Heather DeAvila said.

Tomorrow’s Plan

Doctors tell DeAvila that he could return to his Attleboro home with his wife and kids in a matter of a couple weeks – but it all depends on the progress of his pelvis.

He would need continued physical therapy at home and visits from nurses.

But DeAvila vows to climb higher than 40 feet to trim trees as soon as he can. He wants to be back on the job, not only to do what he said he loves, but also to give his wife a break.

Since his fall, Heather has balanced a full-time job, the kids at home and managing the deposits, scheduling and payroll for her husband’s business.

“I have to make myself a schedule,” Heather DeAvila said, as Erik adds that she traded in her purse for a “filing cabinet with handles.”

“It is very tiring, but it is what needs to be done,” she said. “He has worked so hard to build his business, I would hate to see him lose it.”

For a man that worked seven days a week for 14 hours, then return home to work on the books, all he wants is to sit at the dinner table for a big family meal.

“My attitude is that my wife and kids are at home alone, and that drives me,” DeAvila said. “They are my life. That is the only reason why I work as hard as I do.”