Do You Have Any Known Allergies?

So, yesterday I had to make a trip to Med-Express, everything is fine, nothing to worry about.  I went there because I ended up on the wrong end of a fishing hook.  Yep… I got hooked waaaaayyyy past the barb.  It was my stubbornness that got me hooked.

So, Ben and I went to Glendale Lake to catch a bunch of bass that were all pushed up shallow.  Well, bunch of bass turned out only to be one because I got hooked.  How did this happen?  Well, I got my fishing lure stuck in a mesh mat and it wasn’t too far off the bank, so I thought I could just reach in there and go get it.  The water being ultra-clear, I can see everything on the bottom.  I thought it wasn’t very deep. I was mistaken.  I thought only my arm would get wet, turned out the water was about chest high and I was in a pickle. 

My stubbornness told me, well you’re in it now, so just full send it!  So I listened to my ego and just dove for it.  I got to my lure, and apparently someone else’s lure got stuck in the same location.  As I was grabbing my lure, my thumb caught the other lure’s hooks.  I gave a yank to pull my lure out, but unfortunately, that yank, caused that other lure’s hook to dig into my thumb and break off.  I had no idea what was going on when I climbed back up.

I was soaking wet, and now bleeding.  One random fisherman noted, “Hey man, your thumb is bleedin’!”  Looked at it, sure enough I see a curved piece of metal sticking straight into my thumb.  So, I proceeded to get this thing out.  There are two methods in getting a fish hook out… one is to push it through to the other side and the second one is a strategic straight pull.  The hook was way too deep to push through the other side, so it was a straight pull. 

Now, just so you know… if you do not have any confidence or tolerance to pain, I would not recommend anyone to do this.  Just go to the ER.  If you do this incorrectly, a lot of damage can be done.  So do not ever do this, unless you know how to and you have a high tolerance of pain.  Ok.. just wanted to get that out.

So, I have never been hooked past the barbs of a fishing hook before, but I have yanked hooks out for other people many of times.  Unfortunately, the straight pull method usually required two people to do it effectively.  Unfortunately, only Ben was around and the other two fishermen, didn’t have the confidence to preform this minor surgery.  So I did it myself, it worked, went to the car and started to wash my hands with bottled waters, make sure that there was no foreign object in my finger, and then put iodine and rubbing alcohol on the wound.  Used medical gauss to stop the bleeding and then wrapped it with a band aid, and decided to go to med-express because I have no idea how long it has been since I got a tetanus shot.  I figured a tetanus shot would be a good idea since I had a rusted dirty hook jabbed in my thumb.

Med-express took about 2 hours for them to see me.  It was a long wait.  So many people, so little workers.  Reminds me of that Bible passage in Luke 10 that says “The harvest is many but the workers are few.”  The nurse who tended to me was super nice, but I knew he had a long day.  He asked me, “Do you have any known allergies?” 3 times during the course of 5 minutes.  Rough day man… It’s not easy being a health care worker when you are totally understaffed.  He gave me a tetanus shot, which hurt like crazy! 

So… it’s today now.  My thumb, looks like it had better days, but really not too bad.  Can’t type with it well, so I am trying to avoid putting any pressure on it.  My left arm, which is the arm that I got my tetanus shot at, still very sore and tender.  Apparently it is going to be like that for a few days.  So I am moving slowly, and just being careful.
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What have a learned throughout this ordeal?  Number one, you ego, your stubbornness is what got you in trouble in the first place.  It is vital, to put that aside.  Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on.  Number 2, show your appreciation to all healthcare workers you see.  Tell them thank you and never complain if something is taking too long.  There are reasons, and they are going through a lot of work, and they do it respectfully, so be respectful to them.   God bless you all.  Take care of yourself and always be safe.