He fought the hatchet and the hatchet won.
|2.Sep.2008So, I’m sure you’ve heard the news from the hen house, but what you haven’t heard is the quick trip to the ER as a result of our weekend hen culling.
I was finishing up a client’s updates when I heard Emelie’s unusually strained voice yell, “I’ll go get momma!”. It took about two seconds for me to know Jeff was hurt. No, not because I can read minds, but because he walked in the door two seconds later and said, “Heather, we need to go the ER”.
Then he showed me his finger.
His bloody, gaping-open-with-a-flap-of-skin finger. I saw something white and stretchy cut in half and then I was running for my flip flops, wallet, our cell phones, the truck keys and a towel I could throw away – because he was bleeding buckets.
He had cut right through a tendon (the white thing I saw), some extractor-thing-a-ma-bob, and a good bit of skin. Before he had pain meds they bent, pulled, tugged, lifted, squeezed and basically put my husband through more pain than I could have managed without passing out. His neck, face and ears were VIBRANT red, and his other fist was clenched so tight his fingers were white; not grey – white.
How do I know I couldn’t have managed it? I wasn’t even the one HURTING and apparently I busted out my labor breathing techniques.
I didn’t even realize I did this until later when I told Jeff to let me know if I was touching him anywhere or doing anything that irritated him and he quickly told me he didn’t need to listen to ME moan through HIS pain.
Gotcha.
Eeps!
So, 6 hours, 1 trillion pints of blood, 5 deadening shots, 4 or 5 internal stitches, and 14 external stitches later, he was all stitched up.
In case you didn’t notice the title to this post, it was a hatchet that tried to take my husband’s finger off. Yep, good old fashioned hatchet. He’ll tell you that he had severed the hen’s neck on the second swing, knew it, and for some reason still came in for a 3rd swing, while at the same time he moved his right hand in the wrong direction.
I’ll say.
I overheard him telling the PA he was gonna use a chainsaw next time.
Oh.my.
43 Comments
Annika
Yeesh!
A Cowboy's Wife
Just saw this on flickr..ouch!!! And here’s my son out in the shop building a hatchet!! Gah
TheAngelForever
Oh my goodness. Thank goodness he is back together again and will hopefully mend quickly. Did the kids see all of this happen? So sorry that all of you had so much excitement.
bethany actually
Thank God for modern medicine! And thank God Jeff’s finger wasn’t chopped clean off! I’ll say some prayers for speedy, uncomplicated healing.
Jill - GlossyVeneer
OW OW OW! That’s an angry looking injury, I’m glad it is all stitched back up. (And impressive job, making the stitches shot look like art!) I hope it heals well and quickly!
Kelly~ Mommy and the Marine
Ouch. Yep, my husband did the SAME thing (well a cut on the finger, but he was trimming bushes, not killing chickens lol), but a little lower on the finger *WITH* a chainsaw. He had to have surgery to fix the tendon though. Ugh… I would stay away from the chainsaw and maybe use some really thick gloves or something? hell I don’t know. Ouch.
Shar
Oh my. I did something similar a few years ago when I was chopping wood in a knealing position by my wood burning stove. I brought the hatchet down just a tad too much to the right and it ended up buried in my knee. My husband was gone out training at the time. I’ve still got the scar – but I felt like a pioneer. ?
Tell your husband that I feel his pain and hope he heals real soon.
mommyknows
Yuck! Shiver ~ Shudder
Chickens 1 – Jeff 0
Kate
Oh my! Glad all turned out well. No more hatchet jobs, Mr. OMSH!
naomi
i guess this is an object lesson about not overdoing a job?
empathies and sympathies to jeff. i did something similar (though not as huge) when i was using a very sharp jack knife to help peel wallpaper off a wall.
you try explaining that in e.r.
MMM
poor thing! heather, i would have fainted or vommited! i can’t handle when hubby gets hurt (which is rare).
Kim
Oh no, my finger’s won’t hardly type – they’re having sympathy pains! Guys can be so tough – I’d have had to have an epidural. Hugs, Kim
Laurie
Sweet Mother of Pearl!
Mandy
I am almost cried just reading. I hate to watch someone else in pain…which is why I am now in administration and not the clinic. Note to readers: if you don’t like seeing other people hurt and bleeding, a medical career may not be the way to go. I always was hardheaded. You hung in there like a trooper (do you feel 6 years old when I say things like trooper?) and Jeff? I cannot even imagine the pain. He is one heck of a guy, but we all knew that. I hope he is feeling better soon. We will pray for him!
Mandy
Sorry for the first sentence there not making a lick of sense.
mamalang
Oh my. That looks painful. Prayers for a fast and full recovery…for both of you!
Kristi
Oh, man…that’s quite a battle wound! Had to chuckle though at your labor breathing thing…apparently I do that without realizing it too…aggravates my husband to no end! Hope all heals well.
Gayle
Yipes, I hope Jeff is feeling better now. A friend of ours almost totally cut off one of his thumbs and they made him wait forever for pain meds. Why do they do that?
Michelle
Oh, youch! Jeff, I hope you’re feeling better! Heather, you’re so funny, “busting out the labor breathing techniques”…glad he’s on the mend :o)
Michelle
Angela Tippets
Oh, you are a much better woman than I. I would have had to leave the room while they were working on him. I don’t do well with that kind of stuff. I can handle snotty noses, poopy diapers, spit up all over me -but I don’t do blood very well, especially when there are wide open wonds with parts of the body outside that should be on the inside. Poor guy! That will be a mean scar. It will go with the bike though :)
Angela Tippets
OH, BTW, that better have been the best tasting chicken that you ever had in your life. You know, you can buy dead chickens already cut up at the store. :)
Aileen
I did not see this over my morning coffee!!
Poor Jeff!! I hope he’ll be OK!! :(
nancypants
Oh ugh!! I’m so glad he still has a finger!!! YIKES. My husband better not come look at this (he probably will since he reads your blog.) Stitches give him the heeby jeebies and make him shiver with discomfort.
chocolatechic
Oh dear.
I have rushed Superman to the ER twice for things such as this. First time they made us wait for over 4 hours to get stitched up….while they chatted and ate and fiddlefarted around the nurses station.
It doesn’t look swollen, so that is good.
Drugs…they are our friends.
Kim R
Oh my – please send him my “get well” wishes – I am sure that one hurt a bit. I am not even there and it is making me wince.
Di
He’s lucky to still have his finger…. sorry this happened. Hope he heals quickly!
Claire in CA, USA
You are a brave woman to have even stayed in the room with Jeff. I would have had to sit it out in the waiting room, or plant my head on the very hard floor.
I’m so thankful his finger is intact!
LizP
Yeouchies! Next time – kevlar gloves!
Dad
When I was around 11 years old or so, there was a certain hatchet I really wanted and begged my parents to buy for me. They said, “No.” Why? Because I would cut off a finger. I guess the Lord, through Jeff, is showing me the truth of their words.
The good side of this experience is the wonderful story you are going to have to tell your grandchildren. The sad side is, that chicken didn’t get to cross the road.
Dad
Michelle
Oh Lordy! My stomach is clenching thinking about what pain he must have been in! Looks like they took care of it pretty well, though, glad you were there and got him in quickly!
Coco
good golly gracious! Of course, in his honor, I sliced my finger (while cutting a nectarine… with a sharpish butter knife… okay, so I need to put on my big girl pants!!!)
Cindy
Oh!!! OOOOWWWWWW!!! Yikes.
OMSH
Of course you all know
frankenfingerMr. OMSH is EATING UP all this attention…Bella
Hate to admit it but I would have thrown up! Tell hubby to take care!
Jenn
Ouch ! Man that must have hurt ! I hope it heals up with out any problems.
gin
YOWSWERS! OUCH…. too funny that he had to remind you that he was in pain and not you!
Mr. OMSH
I’m almost over feeling sorry for myself…So PLEASE keep up the sympathy comments, cards, donations, charitable contributions, eco-friendly purchases, use of non-CFC aerosols, and re-using Wal-Mart bags.
I love you. I love you all…[is this a side effect of using a narcotic pain medication?]
OMSH
OH MY STINKIN’ HECK…you did not just ask for donations…
…w/out giving our PayPal address.
Definitely the drugs.
Mrs. Wilson
Oh my word … that is SO freaky. I hope your finger heals fast, Mr. OMSH!
And Mrs. OMSH … have fun! A chain saw would be WAY more efficient ….
Alisha
Wow! I was in pain just looking at the pictures! I hope his finger heals quickly!
This actually reminds me of when I was in school and my sister was leaving the classroom and the door closed perfectly so that her fingernail was caught and ripped right from her finger. At the hospital, I couldn’t even watch the doctors do whatever they were doing to her!
Bush Babe
Ow ow ow ow ow ow!!!!! Chooks (chickens) are awful – this is just another reason why!!! Here are mine … but your hubby’s finger definitely trumps me!
:-)
BB
falwyn
Oh my oh my – I do hope the finger gets better soon!
Next time, no hatchet! Seriously, I have it on authority from a new friend in my new small town home that the way to kill chickens is to just swing ‘em around by the head/neck and give em a snap… and now I’m thinking that sounds like a good idea… much better than a hatchet! :)