posifour11 723 #1 Posted June 8, 2019 Firstly, I'm going to add pictures to the end of this. Be forewarned! My apologies to @ebinmaine and @Stepney for not replying to messages earlier. Ok, so I spent the 26th of may working on a horse I traded for from a guy in Lebanon, MO a couple years ago. ( Don't remember your name, sorry.) Anyway, I'd just gotten it running and wanted to put it through it's paces to know what I had. My wife was transplanting and was working away with the pick and shovel against the rocks here in the Ozarks. ( Don't worry, she loves this physical junk like a weirdo.) I offered to put on this furrow plow to finish it up while she went inside to cool off. Anyway, to make a @stevasaurus 😂 story short, I got hooked on a root from a huge cedar tree. As a leaned back to pull the plow up to back up and restart, a bolt broke on me. I was kinda in shock. Shakey and lightheaded. I backed up like I should have done in the first place, raised the plow with the hydraulics I should have used, and parked the tractor. I went into the house and quietly said to the wife, " I'm going to need a ride". She knew that if I was that calm, something was wrong, but not bad. She didn't even need to ask where to. I went to the kitchen sink and started running cold water over my finger. My blood had already started to clot in a drop on the end of it. (At least I'm not anemic, thankfully!) She knew me well enough to know I wasn't dying. Once she had washed up enough to take me to town, I had my driver's license and VA card in hand, her car was running, I had a wet kitchen towel on my hand and ready to go. The drive was about half an hour to the hospital during holiday traffic near a recreational lake. The folks at the ER weren't busy because it's not the 4th of July and not hours before work on a Monday. I was quickly taken to the triage nurse and taken to a room. The nurse was great and fun. She even noticed my "semi-shock" situation. She joked with me and my wife as she talked me into sticking my finger into betadine. After the x-rays said it was just a tiny fracture, I had to wait a bit. No biggie. Nurse came back many times to jab at me about getting out of gardening. She was great. At about an hour in the room, the PA came in. He said, paraphrasing "yup, we'll poke all the meat back in and stitch it up." BTW, I love his bedside manner! The worst part was the "numbing" shot! For those that have had those shots in a finger, you know what I mean! I've had them in my right big toe, left thumb, my face ( on my lip! By an Army doctor that didn't care much) and this finger. My face was the best! I was squealing and humming a scream through my nose. I'd forgotten how much fun those shots were. If it hadn't been for my training in the Army and my wife's Army training with her medic company, one or both of us would have freaked out. After all that, though..... My wife let me order pizza because I was a good boy! So, after all that, I got five stitches, a great pizza and a happy wife that put me on the couch and went back out to plant her flowers. 😀 Pictures below! Oh! And you'll be happy to know, I aired up the tires and got back on my horse today! 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevebo-(Moderator) 8,332 #2 Posted June 8, 2019 That is really nasty... Glad you did not lose the tip. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,729 #3 Posted June 8, 2019 Well done sir. No apologies necessary for the no contact. I feel like that's a reasonable excuse. Hahahahahaha.... Hope you heal well!!!!!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,376 #4 Posted June 8, 2019 14 minutes ago, posifour11 said: got back on my horse today! Glad all is well! I have always used power saws to attempt to amputate my fingers, never thought about using a plow! 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #5 Posted June 8, 2019 12 minutes ago, stevebo said: That is really nasty... Glad you did not lose the tip. @stevebo, I'd actually almost cut the tip off of the same finger as a teenager after a bonfire incident. I told my wife, just two days before this, that I was lucky to still have my fingers. I'm going to knock on wood from now on! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,729 #6 Posted June 8, 2019 5 minutes ago, posifour11 said: going to knock on wood from now on You may want to start carrying some right in your pocket.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #7 Posted June 8, 2019 23 minutes ago, 953 nut said: Glad all is well! I have always used power saws to attempt to amputate my fingers, never thought about using a plow! It's easy! You just have to " not think!". 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #8 Posted June 8, 2019 31 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: You may want to start carrying some right in your pocket.... I might need to! I'm alone in the woods most of my waking life. Luckily, I do most of my "really" stupid stuff when the the boss lady is around. 😀 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,305 #9 Posted June 8, 2019 57 minutes ago, posifour11 said: I'm going to knock on wood from now on! I recommend soft pine or balsa. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #10 Posted June 8, 2019 17 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said: I recommend soft pine or balsa. I shouldn't use my head for this? I was way off.... 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JAinVA 4,619 #11 Posted June 9, 2019 Looks nasty.Glad you are up and healing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Razorback 1,035 #12 Posted June 9, 2019 Eeeeeeyouch!!!!!! Happy healing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 17,023 #13 Posted June 9, 2019 Don't be me! Don't be stupid! Too late! hope you're feel'n better 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #14 Posted June 9, 2019 7 minutes ago, wallfish said: Don't be me! Don't be stupid! Too late! hope you're feel'n better Of all of the stupid things I've done, I've only been hurt by a few of the lesser ones. Knock on @ebinmaines balsas. 😁 I've been lucky! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #15 Posted June 9, 2019 I should mention that the VA really took care of me with this. I called them on the next business day and told them about it. I immediately had an appointment to have the stitches taken out and antibiotics. They were great! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,729 #16 Posted June 9, 2019 10 hours ago, posifour11 said: use my head I've tried that but I discovered that my head isn't wood... It's rocks... 1 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,769 #17 Posted June 9, 2019 Love those Short Stories... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marv 924 #18 Posted June 9, 2019 20 hours ago, posifour11 said: Firstly, I'm going to add pictures to the end of this. Be forewarned! My apologies to @ebinmaine and @Stepney for not replying to messages earlier. Ok, so I spent the 26th of may working on a horse I traded for from a guy in Lebanon, MO a couple years ago. ( Don't remember your name, sorry.) Anyway, I'd just gotten it running and wanted to put it through it's paces to know what I had. My wife was transplanting and was working away with the pick and shovel against the rocks here in the Ozarks. ( Don't worry, she loves this physical junk like a weirdo.) I offered to put on this furrow plow to finish it up while she went inside to cool off. Anyway, to make a @stevasaurus 😂 story short, I got hooked on a root from a huge cedar tree. As a leaned back to pull the plow up to back up and restart, a bolt broke on me. I was kinda in shock. Shakey and lightheaded. I backed up like I should have done in the first place, raised the plow with the hydraulics I should have used, and parked the tractor. I went into the house and quietly said to the wife, " I'm going to need a ride". She knew that if I was that calm, something was wrong, but not bad. She didn't even need to ask where to. I went to the kitchen sink and started running cold water over my finger. My blood had already started to clot in a drop on the end of it. (At least I'm not anemic, thankfully!) She knew me well enough to know I wasn't dying. Once she had washed up enough to take me to town, I had my driver's license and VA card in hand, her car was running, I had a wet kitchen towel on my hand and ready to go. The drive was about half an hour to the hospital during holiday traffic near a recreational lake. The folks at the ER weren't busy because it's not the 4th of July and not hours before work on a Monday. I was quickly taken to the triage nurse and taken to a room. The nurse was great and fun. She even noticed my "semi-shock" situation. She joked with me and my wife as she talked me into sticking my finger into betadine. After the x-rays said it was just a tiny fracture, I had to wait a bit. No biggie. Nurse came back many times to jab at me about getting out of gardening. She was great. At about an hour in the room, the PA came in. He said, paraphrasing "yup, we'll poke all the meat back in and stitch it up." BTW, I love his bedside manner! The worst part was the "numbing" shot! For those that have had those shots in a finger, you know what I mean! I've had them in my right big toe, left thumb, my face ( on my lip! By an Army doctor that didn't care much) and this finger. My face was the best! I was squealing and humming a scream through my nose. I'd forgotten how much fun those shots were. If it hadn't been for my training in the Army and my wife's Army training with her medic company, one or both of us would have freaked out. After all that, though..... My wife let me order pizza because I was a good boy! So, after all that, I got five stitches, a great pizza and a happy wife that put me on the couch and went back out to plant her flowers. 😀 Pictures below! Oh! And you'll be happy to know, I aired up the tires and got back on my horse today! Looks like mine when I got it caught in the bomb doors. Marv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee1977 6,677 #19 Posted June 9, 2019 Get rid of it Craftsman plow. The Wheel Horse is just too strong for it. That is the reason you got hurt. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,783 #20 Posted June 10, 2019 Good to hear your OK. I love your .... " I'm going to need a ride". I had a dumb moment and had to tell my wife the same thing! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
formariz 11,987 #21 Posted June 10, 2019 Glad that it was not worse than what it is. Good title. Every time these things happen it is always because our stupidity, and most of us if not all, know better. Rushing, distractions, or just plain overconfidence lead to it. I am also lucky to still have all my fingers but there has been too many close calls. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #22 Posted July 30, 2019 On 6/10/2019 at 11:36 AM, formariz said: Glad that it was not worse than what it is. Good title. Every time these things happen it is always because our stupidity, and most of us if not all, know better. Rushing, distractions, or just plain overconfidence lead to it. I am also lucky to still have all my fingers but there has been too many close calls. Mine was definitely overconfidence. I was wanting to show the boss lady that my tractors were really useful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #23 Posted July 30, 2019 I wanted to do an update. It's right around two months since this exercise in stupidity. The finger bends fairly well but there's a lot of sensitivity, still. If I hit it on anything, I quickly remember to keep it out of the way. He even got my fingerprint kinda close. I'm going to say it again. The VA has taken care of everything because I'm a disabled veteran that uses them for all of my health care. I've never received a bill. They are starting to really take care of folks! ( My dad had a very different experience.) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #24 Posted July 30, 2019 On 6/10/2019 at 10:50 AM, oliver2-44 said: Good to hear your OK. I love your .... " I'm going to need a ride". I had a dumb moment and had to tell my wife the same thing! If I'd done it myself, I'd have gotten a spot of blood on my beat to hell, 300k s10. That would clash with the mold decor that the previous owner (fishing guide) had started. She was calmer than I expected. I guess it's her experience with taking kids to the ER while I was deployed or driving herself to the hospital for baby stuff. 😁 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHNJ701 4,165 #25 Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) On 6/10/2019 at 11:50 AM, oliver2-44 said: Good to hear your OK. I love your .... " I'm going to need a ride". I had a dumb moment and had to tell my wife the same thing! a few years ago I was working on a model airplane and slipped with the xacto knife which opened my palm into the muscle. I wrapped it up walked upstairs and asked my wife how late is the emergency room open for? 24 hours she said, my reply was, I think I am going to need a ride. Edited July 30, 2019 by jabelman 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites