Hermiston City Council candidate David McCarthy introduces himself at a candidate forum April 12, 2022, at the Hermiston Community Center. McCarthy is recovering after falling 15 feet off his ladder while he was installing Christmas lights around his home.   

HERMISTON — Hermiston City Councilor David McCarthy is recovering after falling 15 feet off his ladder.

While putting up Christmas lights around his home Saturday, Nov. 23, McCarthy was climbing back down when the ladder snapped and sent him plunging to the ground.

McCarthy said the fiberglass shattered several inches up the support of the ladder.

“I fell and landed basically crisscross applesauce on my left tibia,” McCarthy said. “I remember falling to the ground. It felt like forever, but I’m sure, you know, it was a fraction of a second.”

McCarthy’s neighbor witnessed the fall, rushed to his home and told his wife, Alexis McCarthy, that her husband had fallen. Alexis was occupied inside the home with her son and a friend when her husband smacked onto the ground.

The Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 responded to Alexis’ emergency call and transported McCarthy to Good Shepherd Medical Center where doctors performed surgery on his left leg.

“It hurts real bad,” McCarthy said. “I fractured my tibia on my left leg basically halfway up the bone, all the way up to my kneecap. I had to get a rod and a few screws in and then I had dislocated my right big toe, but they were able to fix that in the ER though. They kept me overnight in the hospital.”

Doctors told him it would probably take up to six months for him to recover, McCarthy said.

He is recuperating on a wheelchair and has a pair of crutches and walker to help him.

“I was probably the most scared I’ve been in my life,” McCarthy said. “If it weren’t for the support of the friends and family that I’ve made in Hermiston I don’t know how I would have made it through this or been able to even make it home. It was more than just my wife along with me. It was somebody else that I’d met and I’ve got a really great support group here. So I’m really happy about that.”

McCarthy also expressed gratitude to the fire district’s emergency responders for their help.