Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Me vs. Chain Saw

Saturday was supposed to be a heavy work day. We planned to take down a couple trees at my grandmother-in-law's house in Mishawaka. Then I was supposed to go home and spend the afternoon mowing at our house.

Well, things didn't go according to plan.

Shortly after dropping a small tree I was working with a chain saw chopping up the limbs. I got a little too confident and grabbed a branch with my left hand while using the saw to cut a small twig off the side of the branch. As I cut the twig something made the saw bounce back and it bumped my left index finger. I was wearing gloves and thought it just ripped my gloves. But then I looked closer and noticed some blood. I quickly removed the glove and saw the damage. My finger looked pretty mangled and I ran inside to rinse it off and get it wrapped up. It didn't take long to decide that I needed to go to the emergency room.

The doctor said he couldn't stitch the wound because the cut was too jagged. So he covered it with some strips, put it in a splint and bandaged it. I have to wear the splint for 7-10 days so I don't bend the knuckle and reopen the wound.

So, I am fine. It could easily have been a lot worse. I learned a lesson: Never get too confident when working with powerful equipment; Accidents can happen very quickly; Always wear the proper safety equipment; Be thankful for every day and your health as long as you have it.

Thanks to everybody who has asked how I'm doing. I appreciate the concern. Unless there are any complications, this will likely be my only post on this subject. Hope this answered all your questions.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update--I was dying for the details which my husband neglected to get! :) So thankful it wasn't any worse!

Jill H.

the Peterson family said...

That is great! These are the stories you can tell grand kids about someday. I have been cutting trees for awhile now and I cannot say that I have let the moving blade to close to my soft flesh but I can warn people of where to park you vehicle when felling a tree. Thank goodness I only paid $650 for the truck.