June 18, 2008
Oh, the irony!
A couple of weeks ago, in one of my progress reports on de-cluttering my home, I showed you my re-organized hall closet. I included this phrase: “Next time I have a large burn or am bleeding profusely I’ll peek in there and know that I have enough wound dressings to last a week.” As it turns out, I couldn’t peek in there while I was bleeding profusely because I lacked the foresight to do it at home. I was inspecting a vacant house, with no supplies on hand at all. I keep a first aid kit in my car, but wouldn’t you know it - it was gone just when I needed it. I must have left it out of the car the last time I needed a bandaid or an antiseptic wipe, and that was so long ago that I can’t even remember where it was or what I needed the kit for. I scrounged around in the car and came up with a roll of scotch tape and some kleenex and improvised a bandage. The one you see here is the third one - the first two were soaked with blood pretty quickly. The third one stayed on long enough for me to get home, clean the wound properly and put a real bandage on it. I stopped at Walmart on the way home and they had first aid kits on sale, on a special display just inside the front door. Now I’m well equipped again for the next time I give a little too much of myself to the job.
The injury never should have happened. I was opening the hatch to go through the hall ceiling into the attic. I lifted it straight up, then got each hand cupped over an edge. As I moved it a little higher up something gouged a piece of flesh out of my hand. The guy who is selling the house had done some extensive remodeling. He needed to run some cables or wiring in the attic, right beside the entry hatch. He cut a channel for the cable in the framing around the hatch. That would have been fine, but he did a very rough job. It looks like a child hacked out the channel with a screwdriver and hammer. There are rough patches and splinters all along it. In one spot there’s a chunk of wood sticking out right against the hatch cover and that’s what got me. It took a piece of flesh out and there’s a piece that’s “hanging by a thread” and will probably not heal back in place. The guy had to know it was a hazard, but I can imagine his thoughts on that: “The wife and kids will never go up in the attic and I know it’s there and will make sure to avoid the rough spot whenever I need to go up there.” He didn’t think about repair people or termite inspectors or anyone else who might ever have reason to do something in the attic. Mahalo plenty, mister. I left a big old blood stain on your textured ceiling. Nothing I could do to get it out, so I hope it doesn’t screw up the closing for your home sale. And hey - next time? Try think!
I have a picture of my hand without the bandage. Make sure you thank me for not sharing.
[tags]accidents, bandages, on-the-job injuries, work[/tags]
Posted by skeet @ 7:40 pm • Just stuff, Health & wellbeing
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June 20th, 2008 at 8:16 pm, Whim Says:
Ouch!