ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — A Princeton man says he is adjusting to his “new normal” after a work-related accident earlier this month.

Michael Hanson, 39, is a tree feller who is in the high-risk group of tree fellers. On August 6, he fell 10 metres while felling a tree when his equipment failed. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“I was doing everything normally and I wasn’t even in a hurry. I leaned back and suddenly I just felt ‘phew,'” said Michael Hanson. “There was nothing to jump on and the way I was falling, I couldn’t turn around; I couldn’t even protect myself.”

He immediately noticed that he couldn’t move his legs.

“I kept trying to get up, but I couldn’t get up. Dude, I can’t get up. Call 911, man, because I can’t get up,” said Michael Hanson.

The father of four was taken to North Memorial in Robbinsdale, where doctors told him his spinal cord had been severed.

“My reaction to that was that I haven’t really lost anything except the ability to walk because I still have my family, I have people who love me, and I’ll still be able to do things because I’m going to fight through this,” Michael Hanson said.

Michael Hanson started cutting and splitting wood at age 12. By age 13, he was hauling brush in the Twin Cities. By age 19, he started his own business.

The 39-year-old lives for nature: hunting, fishing and simply being outdoors with friends and family. That’s another reason why he became a tree felling specialist.

“My sister has twin daughters, and I was the first person to take them fishing, so I was the first person to watch them catch their first fish when they were two or three years old,” Michael said.

His sister-in-law Michelle Hanson said the support for Michael had been incredible.

“Stunning. It’s a beautiful thing,” said Michelle Hanson.

He dreams of being able to hunt and fish again. So in early September they’re holding a flea market to raise money. The proceeds will go to Michael Hanson’s family so they can remodel their house before he comes home from the hospital.

“We’re all thinking about how we can get him where he needs to be to become the man we all love,” Michelle Hanson said.

And they have no doubt that he will make it. Michael believes that his accident has brought his family closer together in some ways.

“The way people come together in tragedy is so powerful and so beautiful,” said Michael Hanson.

Michael Hanson’s advice to others in his industry is to always have a second safety rope around the tree.

The flea market will be held Sept. 3-7 at 2949 Beetle Road in Princeton. There will also be a golf tournament for him on Oct. 11 at Pebble Creek in Becker. Any additional donations will go to help others with similar injuries.

A GoFundMe page has also been set up for the family.