I pounded my left thumb with a hammer, again.
Trying to knock a bearing out of a tube locked in a vise at work using a long rod, the hammer glanced off the end and I whacked my thumb traveling right to left.
Oh it hurt a bit but then it started bleeding.
And Bleeding.
And Bleeding some more.
There was a trail of blood across the floor to the garbage can and then all over the insides.
Oh there were the words too.
I was basically Speaking In Tongues at that point.
No cracks about the dirty nails, I work for a living.
Split that motherfucker WIDE OPEN and peeled it back from the knuckle.
Of course I was at work.
Of Course they had to call an EMT.
Of course there was four thousand pages of paperwork and a trip to the bathroom to pee in a little cup.
Then they wouldn’t even let me drive myself up to Urgent Care to get it sewn up.
Oh no, gotta ride up in an ambulance with the EMT.
He gets with six blocks of the joint and his little traffic alert thing rerouted him and we wound up a mile and a half away from where we needed to be, in downtown, until he finally discovers that what I have been telling him since he turned off was right and we had to turn around and go 24 blocks back the way we had just came from.
I’m really fucking glad I wasn’t having a heart attack.
He drops me off and then it’s more paperwork and a two hour wait to get seen.
Xrays, the works.
Finally some lady comes in and cleans the thing up and it starts bleeding anew.
More gauze. Then some lady doctor comes in, takes one look at it and says she doesn’t sew so good so out she goes and ten minutes later another lady comes in.
Young, from Tennessee, we had a great conversation while she was working me over.
I have split that thumb open before with a hammer, to the point you could see the bone.
Even then it only got like 6 stitches.
I told her she needed to sew this thing shut tight.
So she did.
I now have a new personal best for that thumb.
Nine freaking stitches.
Then this on top of it.
Oh, and another Tetanus shot because I can never remember when I had the last one.
Fuck me.
When they got all done they patted me on the ass and pointed me to the door.
No pain relief, just instructions to keep it clean and dry.
Yeah, those numbing shots are wearing off and this thing is already starting to throb like a sick chicken’s ass.
It’s gonna be a long night.
Then it’s back to work tomorrow.
This kinda shit may slow me down but it sure as hell isn’t going to stop me.
geezuss man, that’s a younger guys fate!!
did the same thing once, asshole driver impatiently jerked a piece of sharp metal, 2 hrs at clinic for stitches, went back to work to make sure the shit was loaded right, had to start over because the asshole that caused my wound was long gone…by the time i was done the stitches were all broken, it was midnight by then with nobody around to even cry to
let it heal, go easy on it
Dang, keep that clean and get some pain meds. Prayers for a fast healing. Keep an eagle eye on it for inflammation, don’t want that and don’t attempt to flex for a while.
Anyone that works in a factory or construction is in the brotherhood, includes me.
Take care..
I used to be a commercial/residential framer.
Had my fair share of pounding the wrong nail.
Fuggin hurts.
Never made it to the ER but always had a large supply of paper towels and electrical tape in my tool box.
Tore my thumb nail off once. That one hurt so bad I puked. Wrapped it in paper towels and electrical tape.
It was my luck the head safety guy was twenty feet away when I did it.
I couldn’t hide the trail of blood before he got there to see what was going on.
14 stitches in my right thumb and a cut tendon from working on a Class 8 car trailer some years back, then back to work, looks familiar.
Dude… wtf?
Oh hell, I could have sutured that up and made prettier knots and only charged you $5.00 bucks… I could have handle the tetanus inoculation out of my stash… bend over buddy. Did the x-rays present any fractures? One thing, ya won’t be able to beat your meat adequately for awhile… I would have even used gloves to protect me.
…and how is it that you know he uses his left hand…?
Wait, Is Phil right handed or left? Looks like the left hand, so no strange, the original Rosy Palmer will have to do. He may still be in business.
A blessing amid tragedy.
OUCH! Haven’t done anything like that, but I did have a flywheel pop off the crank, hit my arm, and slide down. Damn ring gear clawed me like a tiger as it slid down, and then it rolled off my arm, leaving a trail of punctures from the points on the teeth.
Still have the scar!
Sorry to hear about your day. And yeah, maybe another hour or two of accident reports ahead tomorrow. About as long as that thumb splint will last before tossing it anyway. Long night ahead for sure. Hey, at least they didn’t tow your truck.
Couple of years ago, a guy comes into work following an on the job incident with a doctors note saying he can only do light duty work. Hahaha….Nope. We don’t have “work lite” around here, sorry. We have great guys to work with and they’ll always lend a hand but no excuses for sittin on yer ass when there’s work to get done.
I’m sure you’ll be hucking broken shit across the shop by next Monday. In the mean time, take it easy for a couple days. Let ‘er heal.
You’re gettin’ too old for that shit…
Well my friend, as someone who too is experiencing much pain, you certainly have my sympathy. I’m also glad that, Cederq the butcher was a couple states away and you weren’t subjected to his hack work of getting put back together.
I know that throbbing is going to make for a long night.
I only butcher well…
LET. IT. HEAL.
Don’t go all macho and try to do things ahead of your body’s ability to fix the thumb. If yoiu TRY, you’ll do even MORE damage, and since we are all (okay, mostly) old(er), Mr. Body heals slower. If it starts hurting like a motherfricker, back off – especially if you are on painkillers!
Please.
And whatever you do, keep it clean. Blood poisoning is no fun at all. Ask me how I know…
I’ve had blood poisoning twice.
Those red streaks are fast and fucking scary.
Damn that hurts, and it wasn’t even me this time!
1) EMTs: A whole 110 hours of training, and still can’t find their asses with both hands and a map 6 times out of 10. But you gotta learn the biz somewhere, so…
2) The (probably a) PA did nice work. Not plastic surgery nice, but pretty spiffy.
3) Let the damned thing heal. Clan and dry means motherf**king CLEAN and DRY. After the third day you can briefly wash it (without dunking or blasting shit into the suture line) and gently pat dry. Probably 7-10 days to get ’em out, right? When you go for a wound re-check in 48 hours, pre-schedule the removal date at that time. Your own MD or any Urgent Care is faster and cheaper for that than going to any ER for suture removal, so do that, not the ER.
4) Tetanus Pro Tip: You write today’s date on a sticky note or label, and slap it on the back of your driver’s license. {As in “I can’t remember when I had my last tetanus shot, but it’s on the back of my DL!”} So that the next time you need a booster, you know WhenTF you had your last one, and save a poke it you don’t need it. 10 years for small things like this, 5 years for major gackage. If the license is new, and/or the sticker is gone, it’s probably time for a booster the next time you check.
5. Stop hitting your thumb with a hammer. That shit hurts.
6. Best wishes. Get well soon.
Paperwork? It’s just as well you didn’t do it while loading an AR15 or you’d be up to the wazoo in paperwork until Christmastime! Meanwhile, be gentle and be clean or you WILL fuck it up.
I sliced my thumb in a similar location three years back on a hose clamp, while trying to open the pool for the little woman. Biggest PITA was the constant re-opening of the wound (i did not have stitches) from common and brainless use of the thumb (you bendy she bleedy).
Good luck Brother.
damn, if I was closer, I could hook you up with something to dull the pain away a bit. one trick I learned early in life was to always keep some pain killers around.
I think I smashed my thumb a couple of times, but my toes got smashed a bit before the army- concrete and mason jobs with dear old dad.
lidocaine patches work great if they 4-5 % same with the ointment too
then there booze, doesn’t really make the pain go away, you just don’t care about it
until it wears off. I really hope you feel better dude.
being in pain sucks big time. and you know the older ya get, the longer and harder it is to heal right ?
Damn Phil, if you were gonna go to all that hassle you should have just chopped the fucking thing off and collected on some Dismemberment Insurance, I think a thumb pays $5K. 😎
Condolences Phil. An of course you don’t heal as fast when you’re older. Hands are no place to get hurt.
Man, that’s nasty looking. I’ve banged my thumb a time or two but never drew blood. ‘Course I was only trying to start nails into wood.
Why is it always when you get right to the point of having something to enjoy (like Mr.Smithy) something like this pops up? We must be related….
You got all the medical advice already, but a bit of honey across a wound helps it heal and is antibacterial. I’ve used that in the past to glue flaps down and it works. Probably not time for that since your have stitches, but remember it for later.
Ouch.
You shouldn’t do that sort of thing.
I bet it hurts.
-rightwingterrorist
Oh, Phil, that sucks. Been there. Vitamin C helps heal. Chow some down on a regular basis. The cheap C works as well as the spendy C. It’s all ascorbic acid. Helps the skin, vessels and collagen heal. Best to ya
That looks a sore one Phil. I bet the air turned blue with all your swearin’
Reminds me of the time I stepped on a 60D spike and drove it in my foot. Did that while working my side job. Got that patched up and went back to working the regular job the next day
Driving several hundred miles a day! Doing deliveries. That was fun. 😜
Heal quickly, my friend.
My left hand thinks that my right is a psychotic killer without a conscience. Well, he’s half right.
You know Matthew, you are not far off as you may think you are… there has been documented cases of mental illness that a body part, typically a hand or arm that maims and injures an offending other appendage or body part.
That explains some things, I’ve documented a few of those cases myself, my right hand has attacked several other parts of my person and even tried to commit suicide a couple of times!
I am convinced my left leg doesn’t like me, very passive-aggressive.
You can concoct a great “There I was…” off that one. Bitch of a place to get sliced. I walked into a UHF blade antenna on a Hawg in England back in the early 80’s Damn engininerds moved the thing on the 80 models; I’d only worked 76-79’s till I got there. Took 40 or 50 stitches to close my noggin and I still carry the dentin my head. Snapped that bastard clean off. To add insult, I had to replace the damn thing the next day so it could fly. Gear doors, bomb fins, fuel tank vents…..got lots of Hawg & Phantom bites.
Do they call you scar-head now P?
Throb like a sick chickens ass??? Oh lordy, I am so sorry for your pain, but that phrase made me giggle
Phuk that hurts and makes me squirm just reading because of the memories.
It hurts just looking at it…. heal up well!