Trip to the Emergency Room

[Greg Just]

Yes, it happened to me. I spent about 3 hours in the ER yesterday getting my left thumb fixed up. I was in the final stages of finishing the bottom of a 12 inch maple bowl. It was going to be my entry into the Minnesota State fair. Not any more! I had the tailstock holding the bottom of the bowl on a small tenon. Apparently the tenon broke, the bowl it the tool rest and broke. Then it slipped off and hit my left hand putting a rather large cut into it. I was able to stop the lathe, grab a rag and applied a lot of pressure to the cut. Luckly my wife was home and applied a bandage, but there was no way we were going to stop the bleeding. So we went to the ER. Instead of stiches, the Dr. used 3 strips of tape to close the wound after cleaning it out. They also took x-rays looking for wood. None was found. They also put a splint on the finger so I can't move it and they gave me a tetnis shot. Pretty bad Saturday afternoon.

One point the Dr. did make was to watch for infection. Your hands are really prone to getting infections, especially with some exotic and spalted woods.

I asked the Dr. how I would be in a week, as Monday August 10th I'm attending Alan Lacers woodturning class at Marc Adams Woodworking school in Indiana. The Dr. said I should be fine, probably not totally healed, but good enough to attend - I sure hope so as I have been waiting a long time for the class.

Not sure how I could have avoided the accident, except maybe a bigger tenon.

Be safe and alert - things happen so fast!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Greg - sorry to hear about the mishap! You are right - when things go wrong - they happen all at once! Glad to hear your injury wasn't any worse and you will still be able to go to your upcoming class - which should be real exciting! Hope you can take some photos of the class for a gloat once it's been completed! Get well soon!

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Glad it wasn't worse Greg. Heal fast--that time at Marc Adams school will be fun!

[Brian Weaver]

Hope you heal fast! And yes you do want to watch for infections a buddy of mine at work was sanding his hardwood floor with a belt sander and for whatever reason he laid the sander on its side with it still running he then proceeded to stand up placing his hand on the sander with his little finger across the belt. He went to the emergency room and got fixed up but a week later he woke up in the middle of the night with pain and red streaks running up his arm. He was life flighted to Spokane where he spent a week in the hospital. Some of that time he spent in a hyperbaric chamber. Long story longer they saved his finger but he could no longer bend it and he ended up having them remove it because it was always in the way.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad it wasn't worse Greg. Keep a eye on it. Things happen faster than you can blink.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg,

Glad you weren't hurt any worse! Heal fast and completely!

And yes keep a close eye on it for infection.

2 years ago I was finishing a bowl. I was using a sharp piece of wood to friction a groove in the rim of the bowl. The wood I was frictioning with broke driving the forefinger of my left hand into the bowl rim. It broke the rim, driving a splinter into a joint. I tried digging it out with no success. It was my birthday and the family showed up for a birthday dinner. Afterwords, the LOML and I went to a concert in a park...Eric Burdon and the Animals. That night I told my wife "I'm going to end up in the ER." The next day...Sunday we were there. They dug the splinter out. On Monday I had 2 knuckles on that hand....the one for the little finger and the other one. Red and blue streaks going up the forefinger to my wrist. Back to the ER....install a IV....for the next 3 days I reported to the ER for an IV full of antibiotics.

Watch it! Closely!

[Brian Novotny]

you got lucky. This is my jointer amputated finger after it had healed 2 weeks.....at least I have a valid excuse for flipping the bird:rolleyes: I got lucky and found a good doctor, if I would have stuck with the 1rst one (my insurance obviously didn't pay him enough for him to do surgery) I would have lost most of my finger. I have no feeling in what's left of the tip. Pretty good safety lesson.

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/61/m_dabd13a664b23b65caa80369062ba7e1.jpg

:eek:

[Jim Underwood]

Man. Sorry that happened.

Definitely be checking for infection. One of the worst infections I've ever had was due to a slight belt sander "bump". It just grazed the back of my hand, but a couple days later I had those red streaks. I was taking antibiotics for a week or two...

Never had to go to the ER for it like some of these guys though. I probably caught it in the nick of time.

[Roger Wilson]

There appears to be a recent spate of injuries. It does make one conscious of safety. Hope it all heals well.

It isn't clear from your post, but do you think that a donut chuck, or longworth chuck might have held the bowl more securely in place ?

[Greg Just]

Roger - a donut chuck definitely would have done better. The tenon I had left was about an inch in diameter and I thought that was enough. I have a lot of this maple so I will be trying again. This was the largest bowl I had ever turned at 12+ inches.

[Richard Madison]

Greg,
Please describe how you were holding the (top) headstock end of the bowl, as that part is still not clear.

[Phillip Bogle]

I hear/see you guys relay the war stories about digits mauled and hands mangled. So I am more than a little concerned since I do not heal, (Left over problem from radiation and chemo).

Do gloves help? Short of cast iron what is the best safety gear to protect the hands. I know about the engaged brain and attention span answer. Just wondering if I should be wearing gloves and if yes which ones?

[Charles Murphy]

Do gloves help? Short of cast iron what is the best safety gear to protect the hands. I know about the engaged brain and attention span answer. Just wondering if I should be wearing gloves and if yes which ones?

Phillip, I would not wear gloves around any rotating machinery.

[Greg Just]

Greg,
Please describe how you were holding the (top) headstock end of the bowl, as that part is still not clear.

Richard:

I had the bowl in a jamb chuck on the headstock side and secured the bottom of the bowl with the tailstock using the tenon that remained on the bottom. It is the tenon that broke.