ER Visits

[pyxichick]

Tonight I did a very stupid thing.

I tried to pry a half-opened lid off a can of tomato sauce. I cut my thumb and middle finger on my non-dominant hand. The middle finger didn't stop bleeding after 15 min of direct pressure, so I had BF take me to the ER. I felt sort of silly going to the ER of a major city hosp. for a cut finger, but I'm glad I did.

I ended up getting 4 stitches in the tip of my finger

That was my third ER visit, and I hope, my last.

My question is, who here has been to the ER, and for what?

[Kitsune06]

Oh, man, how many times?
Bike related: none yet.
Home stupidity: Twice, I cut a can, and prying it open, the metal bent a bit, then sprang back down and cut my knuckle all the way through. Wasn't goign to close by itself, I could see the joint. Two stitches.
Sis got upset at me while we were having a 'discussion' over homework. Lunges with pencil and I dodge, protecting myself with hand. Hand v. Pencil. Pencil wins. Went to ER and it took two nurses to hold me down while the doctor poked around in the wound to find the broken lead. Still have a tattoo on my palm.
Should've gone for the 3", fat-deep gash in my thigh from a wood-cutting incident, but was too stupid and scared to. It healed up fine, just left a nasty, huge scar.
Illness: Too many incidents of bronchitis and ear infections to count, went once because I was sure I had mono, but my parents were 'sure' it was just a cold, even though a guy I worked with had mono. Sure enough, they diagnosed me, said "Not much we can do. Drink lots and don't move much." Spent the next four days almost unable to swallow anything and in weird feverish dreams. Temp went up to 104 for awhile. I got 'I told you so' rights.
...that's it, as far as I can remember. I guess it's not that bad.

[makbike]

Drilled the large steel spring found in a window shade into my thumb one afternoon. I tried to pull it out but it was really stuck. Took myself to the local ER where I generated a steady stream of hospital personnel through my cubby as I waited to see the ER doc. I guess I was the most unusual case that afternoon . The ER doc decided on a course of action and he finally returned with a pair of wire cutters and some pliers. He tried the wire cutters first - I told them they would not work given it was tempered steel but he had to give them a go and discover for himself that they woudl not cut the spring. Next, he had a male nurse pin my hand down, he grabbed the spring with a large pair of pliers and gave it a quick and forecfully jerk. The spring came out, no damage to my hand/thumb and I was sent home.

[DirtDiva]

Just the holly incident. Hope your finger heals quickly, pyxi.

[Kalidurga]

Bike related: none yet.

Same here. I've been twice in the last five years, though:

- Severe asthma attack at 3:00 am when I was coming down with bronchitis. The nebulizer treatment they gave me lowered my blood pressure to the point that I was so faint I couldn't walk, so I had plenty of time lying there watching the ER goings-on in the middle of the night. Interesting, but weird.

- Went out for an evening walk after work. Coming home through the grounds of the local elementary school around dusk, I felt so good that I stopped to play at the deserted playground. After climbing on the jungle gym for a while, I got on one of those parallel bar thingies that you "walk" across on your hands. Halfway across, I slipped and did a faceplant in the wood chips. Got up with a sore face and wrist. Walked the rest of the way home thinking that I had a concussion and a sprained wrist. Once I got in the house, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. Instead I got out a couple of bags of frozen veggies, one for my wrist and one for my head, and sat down at the computer to one-handedly look up the symptoms of a concussion (which described exactly what I was feeling). Ended up laying down on the couch with my frozen veggies and falling asleep for two hours, (which you're not supposed to do when concussed). Woke up at midnight, realized I was in bad shape, called the ER. They told me to come drive on over. I said "I have only one hand, I can't drive". They sent an ambulance. I asked the EMS if they had ever had to transport anyone for anything as silly as a hurt wrist. Loooong story short, I had fractured my wrist and the doctor swore I couldn't have a concussion because I was too coherent. Ended up in a cast from my fingers to my elbow from the end of July to the end of September. So much for that cycling season... And the folks at work still won't let me live down calling in sick because I fell down at the playground.

[limewave]

My first ER visit was the scariest. I had been fasting and drinking something called golytely(?) as prep for surgery scheduled the next day. That night I woke up vomitting and shaking. My system got really screwed up. I started to lose consciousness. DH carried me to the car and drove me to the hospital where I was scheduled for surgery--which was 70 miles away. I'd pass out and then DH would shake me awake and then I would pass out again. He was driving over 90 mph. I remember I couldn't feel my hands. We FiNALLY get to the hospital and the ER crew is waiting for us. Some big guy lifted me out of the car and strapped me to a gurney and rushed me in. The next thing I knew I had four different IV's in me and my mom and dad were suddenly there. Fortunately, they were able to continue with surgery so I didn't have to go through prep again.

The next 4 visits to the ER were all MRSA related (the deadly flesh-eating bacteria). And, I'll tell you this ladies, you think you've had bad saddle sores and cysts "down there"--you ain't had nothing until you've had a saddle sore infected with MRSA. Yowza!!! I had to wear a drain for a week.

[betagirl]

Bike related - none (knock on wood)

Other - Most recent were 2 within a 3 month timeframe because of a crohn's flareup. There's not much they can do for you other than IV pain killers, fluids and anti-nausea meds to stop the projectile vomiting. They do a CT scan to make sure you're not obstructed, let you lay there for about 7 hours then send you home. It's kind of weird, they ask you if you want to be admitted. Um, NO.

Other than those, I haven't had many. Once for a dislocated kneecap when I was a teenager. There may be others but I can't think of them, so they probably weren't all that eventful or traumatic.

[Lise]

childhood--minor injuries

adult--

*ruptured 10 cm endometrioma (blood filled cyst on the ovary). Acute peritonitis for 10 hours before they figured out to do a CAT scan, then into surgery for 3 hours.

*gallstones--I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. Excruciating. Passed on its own as I sat there in the ER waiting room for 4 hours, rocking and panting in pain.

I work in a hospital. I HATE being a patient, especially in the ER. Last summer when I tripped on some broken sidewalk and badly skinned both knees and palms, I considered going to the ER because cleaning my own wounds was tough. I just bit the bullet, though, and did what I knew they'd do in the ER. It was fine.

[Bluetree]

Hmmm...

Two car accidents.
One at age 15, driver as 16 and just got her license. Hit at intersection, lots of soft tissue damage and bad case of amnesia. Still have no recollection of what happened. Lost close to two weeks of memories. Weird.

Second accident last year. Ford 150 plowed into my brand new Volvo and four other vehicles stopped at a light. $18,000 in repairs and hospital bills, thank goodness for good insurance! Eight months of rehab.

One visit in grade school. Missed some air on a half pipe with my skateboard. Messed up both ankles. What a sucky summer that was.

Three visits in college. Once I accidentally sliced my finger open with an exacto blade. Three stitches. Once with a pancreatic infection. Painful. Third time when clumsy roommate knocked over a pan full of hot oil on my hand/arm. Watching skin fall off your body is gross and extremely painful. ER doc gave me happytime injection then proceeded to peel the damaged skin off. I was so goo-goo at that point that I wanted to help. He kept pushing my head away because I wanted to watch too closely.

Gosh, I sound like a walking train wreck...

[bike4ever]

Right out of college, newly married, I had a glass break on my hand while washing it in the sink. It took 15 stitches across my pinky with 8 stitches on a knuckle.

Car accident about 14 years ago. The main lesson learned was if you are going to be in a car accident, make sure you go to the bathroom first.

Bike crash in April - broken wrist, bruised hip, bruised cheek, broken helmet.

Multiple ER visits with my youngest son due to Asthma - all times of day and night!

In July was our last visit, my youngest ended up with heat exhaustion. Wow, I couldn't believe how fast the nurses began working on him.

[bcipam]

A mine of mine laughingly tells folks that the ER has a "fast track" just for
me!!!

Bike related:

fell off road bike, hit head and fx'd collarbone
fell off road bike, hit head and sustained nasty road rash
flipped over mountain bike handlebars torn AC R shoulder
flipped over MTB handlebars lacerated R elbow required 12 stitches
flipped over MTB handlebars down steep descent and jammed R thigh into bar ends (bar ends now long gone)

Non-bike related:

Well just too many to talk about but lets just say I've broken a few bones...

* * *

It's not that I'm accident prone ( ) it's just that I'm always doing things to get myself into trouble.

[7rider]

Wow.
I had to think really hard about it.
Once, I had chest pain when running on a treadmill. Boy, do they take you in fast when you say "chest pain" - and I was only about 32 y.o.! 'twas nothing...a pulled muscle.
Second time...car accident. Was driving home from VT across NH in an icestorm. Phone rang...looked down at caller ID...did NOT answer it. But taking my eyes off the road got me out of the tire tracks of clear pavement and onto ice. Spun my truck and flipped it on the other side of the road. Had a nice shiner but otherwise was fine. I was more worried about my bunnies who were in their pet taxi beside me. The local police took them back to the station. Fortunately, they were fine, too. Whew!
BTW...the caller was my BF, now DH, and he feels terrible about it to this day!
Only bike crash that really injured me...I didn't bother going to the ER. I was up in the sticks of NH, and none was local, so I iced my injured knee and ultimately had surgery to repair it when I got home.

[pyxichick]

Now I'm starting to feel better already

[Nanci]

Bailed off a horse and broke my fibula. Tiny backwoods ER. Very weird experience.

[massbikebabe]

Kidney stones ususally get me there lickety split. Oh, and then there was the time I was an ER nurse/ER nurse practitioner...let me tell you, we have seen it all!!


karen