So it’s been a pretty busy summer. An unhealthy summer, even by Archer pace. I’ll try to journal it all out, but we burned the summer up quickly. And now the fall is upon us.
BTW, this picture is not a trick. It is real. Two days ago I was helping a friend finish his basement. Simple. Bust out some walls, throw in some electric and insulation. Pow. Simple. John and I were headed over Sunday to Correlli to batch. I was there about 30 minutes. While John and Mark were finishing up some electrical, I went to work on making a short wall. John brought his framing nailer, which had already needed a few “adjustments”. i am traditionally a safety nut, so I was hesitant to use the gun. But I did. As I was using it, I was keenly aware of needing to keep my distance as I used it. However…(here it comes), on the last hit, Mark and I believe the gun malfunctioned. I hit the wood, the nail discharged into the wood, and as I brought the gun up toward me, the gun fired another nail. Straight into my thumb. Right in the middle. As you can see.
I felt a prick. Nothing major. Quickly snapped my hand away. Then I looked at my hand and saw a nail stuck right in it. I said to the guys, “Ahhh fellas? I think I need to go to the ER.” They looked over at me, saw the nail in my thumb, and said, “No way!” Mark took my keys and we went out to the car. Mark drove (slowly) to Foote. I called ahead and arrived at the new ER.
As I approached the front desk, the receptionist asked if she could help me. I just stuck out my thumb and she said, “Okay, I think I know what the problem is. We’ll get set up asap.”. After Brian, a nurse at Foote, cut off the glove, we waited for a doctor. Dr. Brown and another nurse, Nora, were my primary helpers. Dr. Brown did a cosult, ordered X-rays, and determined that the nail didn’t go through the bone.
It’s important at this point to say that I had no pain medication for about three hours. It was uncomfortable, but not killer. I even played around at Dr. Brown’s request and snuck into the doctors offices in the ER to show them. They loved it. Overall it was a great experience. The staff and service were great. I think our attitudes also helped.
Finally after two hits of numbing stuff from a HUGE needle, my thumb was sufficiently numb for them to pull it out. Yes, pull it out. It was at this point that my manliness started to dwindle and I started to get nervous. Dr. Brown asked if I wanted something to take the edge off. I said yes. Nora came back with three syringes that she plunged into my IV. By the time the third one hit, the edge was definitely off. I was feeling GREAT. After two huge tugs with clamps, the nail pulled out. Success!
Dr. Brown asked if I wanted the nail. What do you think I said? Let me know if you want to see it sometime. They then cleaned the wound. With a syringe of saline. They pumped it into one side of the hole and it sprayed out the other side of my thumb. Awesome. Especially hopped up on whatever happy drug they gave me. Event over. Nail out. Thumb wrapped up.
We headed home where I threw up a few times thanks to the meds that “may cause nausea”. Grabbed some antibiotics and vicodin. Today I’m feeling okay. The thumb is a bit sore, but it’s all good. I’ll try to upload the X-ray soon, but until then, enjoy these pics. Obviously i have saved some more detail for the face to face description. I am thankful that it was an event that turned into a non-event. And thankful for good insurance as well as good friends.
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