Tag Archives: accident

Pliers, pins and professionals

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crushed hand pins out new dressing + wire 1 Dec 2009

Professionals in all walks of life anticipate problems, set protocol and adapt to change. The professionals at British Petroleum may have anticipated the recent oil leak in the Gulf.  They probably knew that things could go wrong in the world of oil and nature and machines.  In spite of their planning, it’s unlikely the scale of the disaster was predicted. In any event, no protocol was in place and their attitude toward the accident seemed casual. Continue reading →

Pulling strings and pain

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crushed hand sutures out 13 Nov 09

13 Nov 09

The sutures were ready to come out.  It seemed another step away from the accident toward recovery.  I did not expect it to hurt.  I had removed my own and other people’s sutures on occasion.  At most there’s a tug and a pinch, but usually no pain.  More often there’s a sense of relief when the strings are pulled.

But, I’d never had so many sutures removed from fingers and these were stuck, pulling and painful.  Continue reading →

Dressing down

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Crushed hand in new dressing + cube 6 Nov 2009

6 Nov 09

7 Nov 09

12 Nov 09

The stitched and pinned fingers were secure. Because I could feel something poking into one of them I went for an early dressing change. No thank you to the invitation to look at the x-rays or my hand. Not yet.  In the plaster room the medic adjusted the worrisome wire, released the index finger and re-bandaged my hand with the first of many dressings. It was a relief to see a whole finger joining a working thumb. Continue reading →