Fortunately, the front door was open since my work area was set up in the front yard where I was cutting the pieces of wood for the newel post. So, understanding my predicament, I began to yell “HELP” towards the open door, and I was yelling pretty loudly. After about 10 minutes of yelling the neighbor’s mom who was visiting came to the door to investigate why I was yelling for help. When she saw my predicament, she got my phone for me and I immediately called my wife who left the girls at the birthday party they were attending, which was just down the street from where we live, to come home to see what I had done. When she arrived and she too saw my predicament, and determined she could not free me, we decided to call 911 because I was going nowhere and I was still bleeding a bit into the newel post.
While we waited for the first responders to arrive, I did have to listen to the why “I should always have my phone with me” lecture and the “how did this happen” questions. Yea, like I was in the right frame of mind to provide sound answers to questions I really didn’t want to hear and answer. As the first responders began to arrive and come into the house, I began to feel very embarrassed about my predicament. One paramedic came up to me and asked how I was feeling. Well, I thought what kind of question is that, and then responded with “I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with dumbness at the moment”. What else could I say. Another paramedic came in, looked at my thumb nailed to the wood in this very narrow gap, and then said that they needed to start an IV. They asked me to sit down on the stairs. I needed to explain to them that I could not sit down. I was stuck in an awkward standing position and was pretty much limited to where I could go. It was determined that they would start the IV while I was standing. Once the IV was started, a paramedic said he was going to administer some morphine, at least that is what I understood him to say, into the IV to help with the pain. My embarrassment superseded the pain at this moment, but I knew that the pain would eventually arrive once my embarrassment left me. And I was okay with this offer since by this time I had been standing and nailed to the newel post for over 30 minutes.
Now the comedy of the rescue begins. I know that the first responders have probably seen a lot in their careers when it comes to rescuing the most endangered accident victims, but I got the feeling this might be a first for this group of first responders. The first responders were trying to figure out how they were going to free me from the newel post without damaging my beautiful craftsmanship and causing me any pain. I appreciated that consideration. After their deliberations on a strategy, they determined they would make a couple of cuts with a saw to see if the wood post would let me go. Well, that effort failed, but before they began cutting they decided to give me some more morphine. Okay again from me. After this added dose it was determined to make another cut in a different direction which also failed.
By this time, I was feeling pretty happy and painless, and chimed in with a recommendation for how they could cut me free. They agreed to follow my directions, but before making the recommended cuts, they would give me another dose of morphine. OK! At this point I am getting pretty happy. I was beginning to feel like I was back in the 60’s with my friends hanging out and enjoying a smoke together if you know what I mean. This rescue was getting very interesting in that it seemed like every time an action was being made they continued to make sure I felt nothing but happiness with another dose. I wondered if there was a limit. Oh, and remember I am still standing while all of this is going on. I think we have now hit an hour at this point so all of the first responder vehicles have been outside of the townhouse with lights flashing and the neighbors wondering just what was going on inside.
They made the recommended cuts I proposed and I am now free from the newel post. YEA! I can finally sit down now but no, they are taking be out of the house to the awaiting gurney on my sidewalk. They quickly wrapped my left hand and put me into the ambulance to go to the hospital. I think there was a fear that the nail penetrated the thumb bone and I was pretty dopey at that moment. Since nailing my thumb to the newel post I want to say that more than an hour of time had now passed before being freed. Off we went to the hospital.
At the ER my now newly classified wound would be carefully looked at and somewhat cleaned with the nail and the piece of wood still attached. An x-ray was taken to determine where the nail was. After sometime the doctor came in to see me and said that the nail had not struct the bone and that they would now remove the nail with the wood piece. Once the nail was removed I began to bleed and that was quickly controlled. The wound was cleaned and wrapped. I told the doctor that I wanted to keep the wood piece that had accompanied me to the hospital. I was going to put it back into the newel post where it had been cut from. She looked surprised like maybe I was kidding. I was discharged shortly after that with a bandaged thumb, a prescription for antibiotics, and my piece of wood.
What a memory. I have posted some pictures from this experience on my Facebook and Instagram pages. Check them out if you wish to see a nail through a thumb and the infamous piece of wood that went with me to the hospital. I will never forget to have my phone near me and I now take extra care with using my pneumatic nail gun for anything I do.
Time to return to my current reality.
I looked over to my daughter to see how she was doing and she was completely out of the seizure now. She was scared as I would have expected and I reassured her that everything was good. We are approaching the hospital and I felt my stress building as we parked, but was relieved that her seizure was over. The paramedics took my daughter out of the ambulance and began heading towards the entry. I stepped away and leaned onto a column as I felt a little bit overwhelmed. My heart was racing so I took some deep breaths and recovered my composure. A paramedic waited with me and then escorted me into the ER to where my daughters’ room was. My wife was already there.
A doctor and a team of technicians and a nurse were attending to her. The doctor noted that the bleeding was from her biting her tongue during the seizure and the tongue tends to bleed more freely. There was no substantial damage to her tongue, but is was going to be sore later the doctor noted. We were asked about her medications and that is when we realized that we had forgotten to give her medications for a day which equals two doses. Skipping seizure medications basically ensures that a seizure is going to happen. The medication controls that. It is amazing how easily it is to forget the simple task of giving medications when there are other events that are going on that tends to control your parental thinking. I really felt bad that my daughter’s seizure happened because I forgot to give her the seizure medication when I should have. The doctor ordered up a dose of medication and it was administered to her. We stayed in the ER for another 30 to40 minutes for observation and then she was released. We went home and had a virtual appointment with her neurologist later in the afternoon.
I survived the day and my daughter is doing well. We will be more attentive with our following of the dosing times.
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