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| Is this in your rucksack? |
We never made it to the beach.
Crossing the A149 at Snettisham for a pleasant stroll through the woods to the seaside, Miss W's foot got stuck in a catseye - or rather the deep hole where a catseye had once been - and pivoting on the jammed foot she hurtled face first onto the tarmac without time to put up a shielding arm.
Fortunately the oncoming traffic was far enough away to slow down and enable me to escort the shocked and bleeding patient to the side of the road. We sat down in the woods to assess the damage.
Right knee with two deep gashes. Elbows gashed and grazed. Chin cut and bleeding as was her nose (fortunately not broken) and a piece of gravel had perforated the skin above her top lip, meeting her teeth coming the other way.
Blood pouring everywhere.
Amazingly the little Lifesystems Trek first aid kit had everything that I needed to patch up the patient (I had added some swabs, low contact dressings and plastic tape) and she insisted that we continue on a much curtailed walk to "stop things seizing up". Before long though I guided a very stiff and slightly wobbly Miss W back to the car, where she was horrified to see the full extent of the damage.
So, the first lesson learned - or rather confirmed. Accidents usually happen in the most mundane circumstances, so keep a first aid kit in the pack and in the car. You never know when it will be needed.
The second lesson is that bruising and swelling gets worse before it gets better, and if you're out with a girl who looks as though she has just had a severe beating, be prepared for some dark looks cast in your direction.
I'm thinking of getting a T shirt printed, "It Wasn't Me!"
12 comments:
The most impressive thing thta came out of Phil's box of tricks was the skin closures (steri-strips?). They held the big gash in my knee together as well as stitches.
He's quite useful sometimes ;-)
Poor Tini, I hope you've been to the hospital.
Best wishes,
John
Most impressed that Phil coped so well. Most blokes would have fainted seeing all that blood.
Now all you need is a trip to the doctors for a shot of tetanus in your bottom, so you won't be able to sit down on your derrière *or* stand up on your gammy knee.
Have you knee checked out as well - dodgy things knees.
And you should have a T-shirt saying "oh yes he did"
Thank you for your good wishes, chaps. Lord E is pandering to my every whim. Every cloud and all that ... :-)
This reminds me of a recent incident on my old mountain bike (the one I didn't break). Dangerous things, roads!
Steri strips are great to have with you. I have carried them ever since Alan's Moffat incident.
It is true that accidents happen on the easy bits.
In 2004 I broke my leg whilst walking along a flat path. I did my ribs last year on a tree route by a sedate river walk, and recently twisted my knee hanging out washing.
That last one being the most embarrassing.
Still, Phil can do the washing and ironing :).
Get well soon!
That was a tree ROOT.
If I had been on a high level tree route, I would have had no excuse for falling.
Roads.Yes Martin, hard and unforgiving, much like the patient ;-)
Well, thank you very much, Andrew! Phil now refuses laundry duties on the grounds that he can't risk both of us having dodgy knees.
And I saw that last remark too Lord E - I'll give you 'hard and unforgiving'!
Eek! :-(
Piggle, Puss and I all send very best wishes to the poor patient. It sounds horrendous! A good job Miss W is made of such stern stuff! I'd have been an utter wimp and demanded to be carried home immediately!
What a good point about the FAK, though. I thought I'd learned my lesson when A gashed his hand so badly, but the truth is that I still don't routinely carry a decent kit. Having been on several FA courses, I have no excuse. This'll give me an excuse to drive over to the nice walking shop in Settle and equip myself properly, though, which can't be bad. ISTR Ali giving good advice over on the TGO Messageboard about how to supplement shop-bought supplies, but it sounds like young Elpus was ahead of the game.
Well Done to Elpus, and kudos to Miss W for fortitude in the face of considerable adversity.
(Piglet send several loving licks, but you might be best wiping them down first with a steri-swab. Don't tell her I said that...)
Oh no. Have just read this and send my sympathy. I hope you're starting to feel better by now, Tini, but if the bruises and swellings are still bothersome ice packs might speed up the recovery (being semi-Canadian, I thought I'd better mention the ice).
P.S. Well done, Lord Elpus.
Shirley, Lord E has not only re-stocked the first aid kit, but has laid in extra supplies against future disasters.
Ice would have been a good idea, Ali, not just for the knee as it was 28C at the time (our indian summer).
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