I was having a lovely time on Sunday afternoon with my secateurs when I made a slight misjudgement. The cutting blade sliced through the pad of my left ring-finger. I think the top end of the blade only just caught my finger, so the anvil (the thick lower jaw) was not involved. But the secateurs are Swiss-made and, I discovered, still razor-sharp after some years of use and abuse.
It was a deep cut, though, with lots of blood. I zoomed into the laundry to wash it off a bit. It was only after I moved my hand and the water bent the flap back that the world started to go dark. I've occasionally felt faint, but have never been so close to collapsing on the floor before! After the Geek had helped me wrap it up, I'd rested for a while on the bench outside until I felt better.
By now I knew that I needed at least a tetanus jab, if not stitches, and on a Sunday afternoon that would mean going to our local hospital. So I had a cup of tea, made by the Geek (one should never go to hospital unfortified). I think his first-aid skills might need a bit of work but the tea was well made! By 3:30 I was in Casualty.
The triage nurse replaced the hasty dressing with a proper constriction bandage to reduce blood flow, and then I had to wait for the doctor. My only entertainment was two coppers arriving with a fellow in handcuffs who had no shoes and no teeth, and who appeared to be slightly on the wrong side of the sanity line. And there was a B-grade meerkat documentary on the TV.
I think I saw the doctor at about 5pm, which isn't bad for a small hospital on a Sunday afternoon. I ended up with four stitches, as you can see, a tetanus jab and a Keflex prescription. And local anaesthetic injections into the finger are just as painful there as they are anywhere else. I was grateful my wedding rings escaped being cut off.
Meanwhile, the Geek had been cooking a lamb roast. Delicious, though the anaesthetic had worn off and my finger was pretty sore. Most annoying things: I missed out on all the other garden work I was planning to do, and as I type properly, having my ring finger out of action is a nuisance. But it looks like it's healing well. The stitches will be removed on Friday.
7 comments:
Good thing you are not a hand model!! They would have to photoshop the scar that you are going to have. You certainly did a great job of slicing it. Now you know that your secateurs are slicing your plants nicely.
Yikes!
I'm glad the boys looked after you.
...and I want to know the brand of secateur!
My secateurs are the Swiss-made Felco 12. Expensive ($90), but will last a lifetime unless the Geek leaves them out in the rain for a week again. I think I bought them from Diggers Club (see links at right), but there is a Felco Australia site you can check out. The Felco 12 is sized for women's hands.
As for the eggs comment, Amanda -- words fail me!
OUCH! I think I feel a little faint myself...
Gardening is such a dangerous hobby. That's quite impressive that they could slice through your finger. I think mine would have a job doing that. I'm sure ti will be sore for a while and you will be wearing gardening gloves from now on right? No, I thought not!
Correct -- I don't like gloves unless I'm dealing with thorns!
Oh you poor thing, I feel your pain! Our stories are very similar, even down to both happening on a Sunday. Hope it's on the mend now, and you're gardening is in full swing again, albeit a little more carefully! So glad you popped in to my blog, because now I've found yours too, and I'll enjoy following you in your renovating and gardening adventures! K xx
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