Hard Lessons to Learn

The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson. ~Author Unknown

Yesterday, DH and DD (and other family members) went boating. I was supposed to have the entire weekend blessedly alone.

Alas, it was not to be.

At approximately five o'clock, I received a call from my DH. He needs to take lessons on Not Panicking Your Wife 101.

"Hey, I'm taking DD to the ER. Can I give them my insurance card?"

Yes, it's true... there was not anything to preface that remark. Eventually, I discovered that she had cut her foot and probably needed stitches, but he was across the lake from where he had the truck parked and needed to go. He'd call me when they were off the water.

Ohhhh-kay.

Twenty minutes later, he called from the truck. Told me where he was headed. I told him I'd meet him there as soon as I could.

I checked, and all my neighbors were gone... what to do with the dog? Last time we hit the ER, it took upwards of nine hours. Considering it was more than an hours drive time to the ER at the lake, I could potentially be looking at eleven hours. Couldn't leave her crated that long...

I took her with me.

When we arrived, DD was in the exam room. She'd had x-rays to make sure nothing was broken, and was waiting for the doc to have her stitches. And, I finally discovered what had happened.

She'd been sitting somewhere she shouldn't have, and when a wave hit the boat, she fell off. Onto the brand new, stainless steel propeller. The one that cut my DH's hand when he put it on. Apparently, she'd clutched her toes to try to stop the fall... instinctive, yes. Good idea? Um, not so much.

She sliced her big toe half off (seriously... ick... down to the bone), took a chunk out of her second toe, and sliced her third one. She ended up with eight stitches. Her toes now look like this.... (I'll put some spaces for those folks who don't want to see the icky picture)....

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Worse? Aside from the fact that DH laid into her about obeying your father, she's out a two-day trip to the lake, fireworks AND a week's worth of swimming next week in my neighbor's pool (they're out of town for a week, and offered us the use of it).

AND... it MUST stay clean. Period. So... no walks, no bike riding, no bare feet.

It looks like this:


And SHE looks like this:



I don't expect it to be a fun ten days.

What's the worst injury YOU'VE had?

I broke my wrist falling off my pony in fourth grade, and had surgery on my leg in seventh to remove a bone growth. I ran into a glass chess board with my head in kindergarten and had a bunch of stitches just above my left eyebrow. And I tried to slice off my pinkie when I was four y.o. --- but I survived them all.

Obviously.

*G*