Your Response to this First-Aid Situation

[ThomasD]

OK, I am going to do something I have very specifically told people NOT to do, and it even has a "sticky" post in this sub-forum. (See http://www.loveshack.org/forums/mind-body-soul/physical-fitness-health-weight-management/93488-seeking-medical-opinions-information-loveshack ) Hence the evasive title.

 

I'm looking for your opinion as to whether my intended action is reasonable - overly cautious - unwise - or ridiculous. Or ignore me - writing this out is helping me think through the situation.

 

About 8 hours ago I injured myself falling from a ladder. I was about 3 feet ( 1 meter) off the ground, using a chainsaw to remove the last stub of a tree limb that was mostly removed last week. (I had contemplated doing the job by holding the saw overhead while standing on the ground, but decided I would have better control of the saw, and better view of the task, while standing a couple rungs up on the ladder, even though that was naturally a less secure footing.) At my request, my wife was a few yards away as safety monitor. The operation went smoothly, and I had stopped the saw as I watched the stub separate and start to fall.

 

My next memory is sitting in the main bathroom, 40 yards (and a flight of stairs) away from the work location, running cold water and holding a bloody wash cloth to my head. I can trace a trail of blood through the house but have no idea if I was carried, walked, flew, or teleported across the route. From fragments of my wife's comments, the falling limb stub gyrated, hooked the ladder, and threw me into a pile of firewood, branches, brush and other residue from the original limb removal operation.

 

I have a few minor skin punctures (the Black Locust has some VICIOUS thorns!), a gashed forearm, and a 1.5" (3.5 cm) cut on my head above the right ear. The bleeding essentially stopped in 5 - 10 minutes, though the head wound seeped small amounts of blood for a couple hours. We applied antibiotic ointment to all of the wounds (which makes a really nasty looking splat in my hair).

 

I also have a mild to moderate headache, not concentrated at a particular location but rather generalized.

 

At this moment my greatest discomfort is my right hand. It is sore from the wrist to the first knuckle of the fingers. It feels like a sprain or "wrenched" wrist - except it's up in the hand itself more than the wrist. It's uncomfortable enough that I can't grasp things well, and my handwriting is markedly deteriorated. I can touch the thumb tip to each fingertip and (with some pain) fold the fingers all the way down to the palm. I can operate the computer mouse and do my usual search-and-destroy style of typing. (A bit more aggressive than hunt-and-peck.) I have had broken bones, sprained joints, a dislocated thumb, and an infection in a finger on my other hand. This FEELS like a sprain.

 

After stopping the bleeding I laid in bed with my feet on pillows for about an hour and a half. I dozed a little but didn't sleep. I got up, ate a normal meal, and started treating the hand with our excuse for "coldpacks": bags of frozen vegetables from the freezer. (They can be molded to irregular contours much better that ice cubes wrapped in towels.) Unless I can find an all-night grocery that takes credit cards, I've exhausted the supplies in our freezer. There is mild to moderate swelling of the hand, wrist and fingers.

 

At dinner I took 2 standard aspirin tablets, noticed a slight improvement, and took two more about an hour later. It's time for another 3 or 4 tablet dose. The pain is tolerable - almost gone if I hold the hand in a particular, somewhat awkward position.

 

Heart rate is a couple beats faster than normal, but well within my typical range. Breathing is normal. Eyes and ears seem to work normally. No nausea, though I'm feeling generally "uneasy" (like it could develop into nausea). Body temperature may be slightly elevated, though this may be due to the local weather - I can't find our fever thermometer.

 

Wife is in bed. I promised to wake her if conditions seem to deteriorate, or join her when I am convinced I'm stable, and think I can sleep over the hand pain.

 

Two things concern me. First is the hand. The swelling is subsiding a little, and the pain is controllable. I'm inclined to re-evaluate in the morning. If it worsens, an X-ray is definitely in order. At this point (8 hours after injury) I think I've lost any advantage that "immediate treatment" may have had.

 

The second concern is the missing memory. (See paragraph 4, "My next memory is . . .".) If my wife knew that, she would have me immediately airlifted to Johns Hopkins by way of Mayo Clinic. I don't observe symptoms of stroke or concussion - just a headache and scalp wound. My opinion is that sleep would be an appropriate treatment.

 

As you've probably guessed, we haven't had health insurance (or real jobs) for over 10 years. Medical bills would re-open relationship discord going back to when my last means of income production ended in January (or even when I was fired from my last job 10 years ago). We aren't "indigent" - she earns about US$15,000/yr from 3 part-time jobs. My last almost-job brought in a bit more than that in 2012. We own about 90% of a house, a 5 yr old car, a smattering of life insurance and investments. Considering the income and employment situation she'd actually be better off if I woke up dead but I wouldn't put her through that if I could avoid it. Not after 39 years together.

 

Thanks for giving me the chance to compose this, and listening to my whining. I'm going to take some aspirin, take a shower and re-apply antibiotic ointment to the wounds, and try to get some sleep. Unless one of you shows up to forcefully move me to the local doc-in-a-box urgent care center.

[TaraMaiden]

This, to me is a no-brainer.

Get yourself thoroughly checked, ASAP.

 

Jeesh!

[Emilia]

Qualified first aider here: YOU SHOULD ALWAYS GO TO HOSPITAL AFTER A FALL LIKE THAT

 

If it had been me there instead of your wife I would have called an ambulance regardless of the cost. It's irresponsible not to and it can end up being more expensive in the long run.

 

My sympathies for living in a country where such a simple check up is a financial issue

[Shepp]

Completely agree with the others - a bang on the head can affect you later on.

you could pass out, fit, anything - go A&E buddy!

[carhill]

I'd rather default on a hospital bill than die of a subdural Hematoma, a very real risk from a fall rendering one unconscious and/or with gaps in memory. The other injuries I might tough out but a potential brain injury can change one's whole life. As a youngster I had a different perspective but life taught some lessons in that area. Hope you get well soon.

[swimswithjeans]

Please get help if you are still bleeding in any area when you are reading this. I have been without health insurance and pretty injured, too.. It really sucks. Make sure your wife wakes you up every couple of hours.

 

I would recommend a switch to acetaminophen; please stop the aspirin or even ibuprofen mostly because it will not help your bleeding. God forbid you have a small bleed or something in your brain, aspirin could be detrimental.

 

Best wishes for a painless and speedy recovery.

[HokeyReligions]

I agree with the other posters. I've been without insurance too but you won't be able to get ajob with insurance if you're dead or injured and didn't get healed properly.

 

Better to spend money to find out you are ok now than make a widow out of your wife.

 

I hope you are not reading this and are at the hospital now.

[ThomasD]

Thanks to all of you for your concerns. If there are 72 virgins allotted to me in paradise, they will have to wait a little longer. When you see other posts from me you are justified to point out that I have ignored my own advice, and done unwise things, in this case.

 

I have a faint lingering headache and soreness around the scalp wound. Also a quite sore wrist, especially when I move it. Swelling in the hand itself is mostly gone so I don't think there's need for further diagnosis or treatment but I'll monitor progress for a few days. Nothing has really been bleeding since before I wrote last night. I have been mostly in bed since then, sleeping about 45 min to an hour then awake for a similar timespan. I'm speculating that I wake myself up by shifting positions in my sleep, and aggravating the wrist or head wound.

 

Many of you mentioned brain injuries. That was also my most serious concern last night, and the reason I stayed awake until nearly 10 hours had passed. Wife & I will have a conversation at dinner - it could be the Woman I Live With needs a little refresher in First aid

[TaraMaiden]

Oh...it's on her that you're a dork?

 

Gotcha....

[ThomasD]

Oh...it's on her that you're a dork?

 

Gotcha....

Yeah, well, it's ALWAYS the girl's fault, right?

 

My most serious symptom was the memory loss. It was several hours post-event when I started figuring out the nature and extent of that, and only this evening when I got a full picture. The fact is, I wasn't in a position to competently evaluate the events or my symptoms because I didn't comprehend the extent of the symptoms. SHE saw that I was dazed and confused, and said some nonsensical things immediately after the fall. Even though I managed to sit up and stand with little assistance, she says that I had to be pointed toward the house. SHE saw that I negotiated the yard, stairs, and through the house to the bathroom somewhat unsteadily. (I actually walked past a washroom just inside the door, which would have avoided the stairs and about a third of the total distance.) She sensed that I didn't really know what was going on, and wasn't in full control of my faculties.

 

Knowing what I now know, I agree it would have been VERY correct for her to say, "Dear, your natural dorkiness is NOTHING compared to this. We need to get an evaluation ASAP.". I had specifically imposed on her to monitor a task with some inherent risk. Of course, I was thinking more like "Dear, don't chop your foot off or saw through that electric cord you can't see.". She didn't fail in that assignment - to her credit, she was concerned about bleeding (head wounds seem to bleed a lot, and a little blood matting in the hair makes it look even worse) and about fractures (she saw that I got myself to a sitting position, and was working on standing when she reached me so the major skeletal elements seemed intact). We have (together) read up on concussions, spinal injuries, and related injuries. We are prepared for "next time". And I have not made any new entries on my "List of Things My NEXT Wife Won't Do".

 

Once again, THANKS A LOT for your concern and advice!

 

p.s. - was anybody else required to take a first-aid course in college? My school offered the Red Cross, and Bureau of Mines, courses on alternate terms In my major field, either was acceptable but folks working in the mineral industries often had to have the Bureau of Mines certification for employment.

[ThomasD]

. . . My sympathies for living in a country where such a simple check up is a financial issue

Yes, I agree. Despite their claims, I don't think the changes undertaken by our current government administration will make the overall situation much better.

[TaraMaiden]

Well if you're going to be foolish enough for there to be a 'next time' you deserve everything you get.

 

Once you began to have lucid thoughts yourself, your first word to your wife should have been 'call the medics/ambulance, I think I'm in trouble here."

 

When my ex-H had to cut down a tree in our back yard, he went to hire a chainsaw - and was promptly issued with protective gear at the same time. High-density multi-fibre gloves and cover-alls, a full helmet and face mask and ear-covers. Standard issue.

 

it's madness to go into something like this unprotected, and frankly, you were foolish to try to do this unaided, unsecured and unprotected.

 

Don't put your initial idiocy onto your wife's shoulders.

Take responsibility yourself for your carelessness.

 

She did everything you asked of her.

Once you saw how bad things were, you should have made moves yourself to energise matters.

 

I suspect it's possible that she did try to convince you to do something more pressing, but you wrote -

 

If my wife knew that, she would have me immediately airlifted to Johns Hopkins by way of Mayo Clinic.

 

So you kept information from her. And then , you said -

 

As you've probably guessed, we haven't had health insurance (or real jobs) for over 10 years. Medical bills would re-open relationship discord

 

So, don't put this on her.

[FitChick]

If you don't have insurance, give a fake name (preferably Hispanic) and say you are just visiting a friend on your way out of state seeking work. Have your wife back you up (pretend she is not your wife). You have no permanent address as of this moment. Give a fake SS#, too.

[ThomasD]

If you don't have insurance, give a fake name . . .

I'm sure you are not serious. As "gallows humor", I suggest you get a little more practice at it before quitting your daytime job . . . it really is shameful that it takes comments like this to point out how really fornicated our system is, and unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future.

[FitChick]

You could always go bankrupt like so many Americans do. I think medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcy.

[theLWord]

Have you gone to the hospital yet?

 

By the way, tell them you are uninsured and unemployed when they are checking you in. Ask them about a ” charity program” or financial assistance program. They will either ask you questions about your finances there or send you a packet to send back. A lot of times programs will pick up your bill or most of it. The healthcare system in the U.S. is unfair and awful. However, if you really need to go, your life is more important than money.

 

Hope you are better!