By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Throughout 32 years as part of the workforce as an iron worker, a crane operator, and a lumberjack, Epsom resident Walter Durack has called in sick for work twice.

For more than a month, however, the 48-year-old father of two hasn't worked a day.

On June 14, Durack was removing a thin pine tree from a yard in Chichester. As the tree was falling, it rode down the face of another tree, eventually flinging it into his body.

"The top snapped off and came at me like a rocket ship," Durack said.

The tree didn't leave a single mark on Durack, yet managed to severely damage the five main nerves in his left shoulder, sending him to the ground.

"My brain said my left arm was at my side, but I couldn't find it," said Durack. "It was underneath me."

Durack's left arm has been paralyzed ever since, and doctors told him it may be a year before they can even guess as to whether he'll have movement again.

"There was no scratch, no bruise, nothing," he said. "But now it's kind of like my life has come to a screeching halt."

Since the accident, Durack has suffered regular intense pain preventing him from work - even sleep.

Three years ago, Durack started his own small business, Pesky Tree Removal. The intention was to have more time to spend with his sons, 15-year-old Ben and 19-year-old Buddy.

Now Ben and Buddy are running the business in an effort to keep the family afloat, as Durack has no health insurance and bills are piling up.

The family is also trying to sell the business. equipment, including a bucket truck, a chipper and a crane.

"The boys are doing anything they can handle, like cleanup work and low branch work, but nothing too dangerous or hazardous," said Durack, who moved with his family to Epsom in 1987. "I couldn't be more proud of them for stepping up to the plate and saying, .Look mom and dad, we'll do everything we can.."

The family hopes to maintain enough money to allow Buddy to return to the University of New Hampshire for his sophomore year in the civil engineering program.

"It's hard to trust that the bills are going to get paid," said Gretchen Durack, Walter's wife of 21 years.

Though Gretchen is now looking for her first job in more than two decades, she doesn't regret Walter's career decision to enter lumberjacking.

"Going into the tree business was scary, but it was all worth it because of the relationship my husband built with our sons," she said.

This kind of positivity seems remarkable considering such dire and unforeseen circumstances, yet it seems to be a family quality.

"We firmly believe that God planned this for our us," said Walter. "Yeah, I get a little crabby once in a while, and sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down. But I'm also a little excited about what God's plans are for this family."

Durack said his belief has been strengthened by the support he's gotten from people throughout the community.

Following the accident, Durack was taken to Concord Hospital, where he stayed for five days. Though the Duracks regularly attend the Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Concord, one of the first people to visit Durack in the emergency room was John Spring, pastor of the Epsom Bible Church.

"This has shown me that the family of God is so large," said Durack. "I could sit around and be all boo-hoo and depressed, but it's this kind of community that keeps me going."

The Epsom-Chichester Lion's Club is currently raising money to donate to the Durack family, and several individuals and churches have already given financial gifts. Yet both Walter and Gretchen stress that they are not out for pity.

"There are people that have it so much worse than we do," said Walter. "That doesn't make me happy; it makes me thank God for the life I have."

Walter hopes to someday have enough movement to operate a crane, a job he's always loved. To contact the Epsom-Chichester Lion's club, contact Donna Gosse at 435-6508.