What's upsetting you today?

[Sundae]

Ah Dana, that's rough.
I mean all kids break something (I had to wait until I was 17 and it really annoyed me) but to have the added worry that it's something more is awful for her, you and the family.
Like you say, the shilling in the shit is that she got through her exams first.

My thoughts to you, and extended to those I only know through you.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It was the CIA Dana... every 4th of July they sent an agent to olde blighty to break some random kids wrist.

[Sundae]

Uh-oh. Hope you like living in Ecuador, Bruce...

[Sundae]

Argh.
Today dad decided he wanted to change his name to Three-Fingered Pete.
He had a good old try anyway.

Turns out he "modified" the hedge-trimmer with a couple of pieces of gaffer tape, effectively bypassing the safety cut-off. Then held the business end.

Lots of blood.
Lots and lots of blood. Off to A&E for a fun afternoon in the waiting room.
Mum is pretty good with blood and didn't even bother to disturb me because she thought I was asleep (?!) In fact I had the curtains drawn to reduce the glare of the sun and any sound was drowned out by the fan going full pelt, and Richard Bacon interviewing Derren Brown on the radio.

She'd already found the time to clean up most of the blood and write me an uber-casual note before I wandered out during a news break to get a drink from the fridge. At that point they were just waiting for the taxi.

One finger was just badly gashed.
The other had a proper lump gouged out of it and the Doctor said, "Mr Robinson, I think you have been very lucky today." There was talk that he may have nicked a vein and they were intending to keep him in under observation because they couldn't stop the bleeding. In the end, about four hours after the accident they let him go home.

In the mean time I was a good girl.
Brought in the washing, remade the bed in the spare room, washed the cushion Dad had bled all over, hunted down the spots and spatters Mum had missed, put away the gardening tools - including the strimmer of death - watered the garden and started dinner. Worrying all the while. She did call me from the hospital, but she didn't want to leave him alone to make calls as he might have been called in without her.

Poor old Mum.
She has to shower him for a week as he's not allowed to get the bandages wet. Which would be quite sexy if they were 40 years younger, but I think will lead to much frustration and shouting these days. She'll hate having to be up close and personal in a hot bathroom; she can barely tolerate her own showers when the weather's like this. And no, our peculiar shower does not allow you to change the temperature.

They have to go pick up a blood monitoring system for Dad tomorrow, while he is on the high doses of steroids. "I should have collected some today," she said, "he spread enough of it about." Given that it's an 09.00 appointment I expect she'll feel she has to get up at about 05.00 to get everything done in time.

Still. He still has all the digits he was born with, and it least it was his right hand (being a southpaw.)

[glatt]

Wow, Sundae. Glad it wasn't worse, but that sounds pretty bad as it is.

[Aliantha]

Sundae, can't your dad just put a plastic bag over it and secure the bag with a rubber band for showering? That's what my dad did when he pruned a couple of his fingers with the mower. Not very sexy, but perfectly serviceable.

[Griff]

Wow. Rough one for Dad. He is a regular guy, eh? We always pull shit like that and usually get away with it. Give him our best.

[BigV]

a string trimmer?

or

a hedge trimmer?

metal blades moving opposite each other in a scissoring motion?

or

a string(s) moving in a circle at very high speed?


either way, OUCH MOTHERFUCKING OUCH!

[Clodfobble]

Wow, Sundae. Very glad he didn't lose a finger (or two.) And after he just left the hospital a few days ago, too. Do you think this was just macho DIY and a lesson learned, or is the impaired decision-making a side effect of his recent neurological troubles? He's lucky to have such caring women in his life.



As for me, did I say I had severe flu? Apparently, I meant meningitis. Still waiting on official cultures to determine whether it's viral or bacterial, but they've already started the aggressive IV antibiotics, because if it's bacterial they can't afford to wait even a day. On the one hand, spinal tap says it's likely bacterial (low glucose, high protein,) but on the other, everyone's telling me that it just can't be bacterial, because after 5 days of it I should have been dead already. One nurse here told me I should go back to the two clinics that brushed me off earlier in the week, and threaten to sue until they comp my prior visit.

[BigV]

comp??!!

Don't you have a series of orthodontia appointments to cover? or a new lease on a new mazda people mover or some damn thing?

take no prisoners.

[Aliantha]

My dad had meningitis when i was a baby. He nearly died. Get better soon clod. Xxx

[Chocolatl]

Sundae, I'm sorry about your dad's fingers.

Clod - whoa! Hope you feel better soon! Sounds intense.

[Sundae]

Clod, OMG. Talk about really going for it! Much, much sympathy, you must be feeling like hell whichever flavour you have.
All the best from me. Don't listen to Spinal Tap, they'll tell you it's flu ramped up to 11.

Big V, it was one with blades moving in opposite directions.
Sigh.

The shouting and swearing didn't wait until this morning.
I woke up to a crashbangwallop in the early hours of the morning - Dad had missed the final step in going downstairs to let the cat out.
Mysteriously, he was going downstairs with a torch, rather than put the light on.
Now I do this. Because the landing light shines directly onto Mum in the spare room, and it seems unfair to wake her up just because I can't sleep. But Dad never does. I know because the landing light also shines directly onto my bed and wakes me up when he lets Mia out.

Anyway. F-bomb dropped numerous times. Mum threatening to leave him. Hoping he bled to death etc etc.

I know her fury masks fear and love, because this morning she has been nice as pie to him.
Even nicer than pie. Nice as a small bit of pie with a lovely cheeseboard.

Ali - I did wonder about why Dad can't bag his hand up in the shower.
I suspect it's because Mum doesn't trust him not to use it.
I think he should bag it up anyway - he claims he's only using his left hand but I caught him out twice already using both. For a start when he was pulling out the recycling bins which are collected today. "I'll do that, Dad!" Nope, he couldn't wait for me to put my flip flops on. He was halfway up the path with it... Men!

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Sundae

Clod, OMG. Talk about really going for it! Much, much sympathy, you must be feeling like hell whichever flavour you have.

Oh I was, but not anymore. Now I have morphine. Percocets and Vicodins didn't even make a dent, but morphine is my new best friend.

[Aliantha]

Eat lots of fibre and drink lots of water, and make friends with senna! Morphine will stop your pipes up nicely if you're not careful.