Gardening injuries?

I made a new bed around some plants today tieing them together and making it easier to mow. After getting rid of the grass and cutting the landscape fabric to fit my shape, I was on my knees spreading the mulch when knelt on the open scissors buried in the grass with one knee and as I scooted over to reach and spread the mulch impaled the inside of my other knee. Quite a deep puncture wound with a huge egg shaped swelling around it now. I'm getting a tetanus shot tomorrow to be on the safe side since it's been years. Accidents sure can happen in the most unlikely situations. Anyone else been injured while gardening?

Ouch! Tetanus shot is a very good idea! In fact after reading your post I made a note to myself to go get a booster on Monday, and anyone else who reads this should too if they can't remember the last time they got one.

I got hit by lightning and thrown into a hedge rose. I was pulling thorns out of my body for weeks. I've stepped on secateurs almost clipped the end of a finger with them and fallen on rakes.

X

Good grief! hit by lightening? Did it make an entry and exit wound? You were fortunate to only have thorns to pluck!

I was reading up on the internet to be sure I shouldn't go to the emergency room and from what I read punctures need to be flushed and cleaned really well and if dirt is involved (yep) a tetanus shot is in order. The articles I read said within 48 hours. I sure don't want to have to sit in the ER just for that. It happened around 4:30 so I could go Monday.

Um .. I assumed you did go see a doc .. If it were me, I'd be sitting inside an emergency room right now .. a knee is something you don't want to mess with .. if it was in the thigh or calf wait .. but a major joint NO WAY. That swelling is pooling blood probably.

X

I was cutting thick vines with a knife years ago and accidently stabbed myself in the thigh. I grabbed my leg and went to the house to stop the bleeding. (Wasn't bad bleeding)

Anyway, the next day it was swelled huge, and I could hardly walk. I had to go to the doctor and have it opened up and rinsed out. The poisons from the vines had got in there and made a mess. It was so sore, and it hurt to have cleaned. Felt better afterwards tho.

They gave me a tetanus shot and some antibiotics, and it finally got better. : )

~Lucy

OK. I'll go. It's on the side of the knee. Like what I'd call "between my knees" area. My truck is a standard so I wasn't sure I'd be able to use the clutch with that leg but it's not that far over there.Thanks X.

Your heart shaped bed is beautiful. It's such a shame that's the bed you were hurt working on! My sis lives in Silsbee, not far from you, and she's actually a nurse (should I send her over??), she's told me that the wait time in local ERs there is about 4 hours if I remember correctly. Does your insurance or hospital have any type of nurse hotline that you can call to talk to a nurse? Ours does but I always forget about it.

I've hurt myself numerous times in the garden. Nothing quite as spectacular as knife/scissor wounds or getting hit by lightening (holy cows!), usually it's re-injuring my back.

Maybe you should get some bright pink or orange spray paint and have some fun painting those scissors and some of your other tools so that they are more noticeable when sitting on the ground. Just an idea.

Please keep us updated and let us know how you're doing, you'll certainly be in my thoughts...this sounds so painful.

We cross posted, glad to hear you're going!

Thanks for the concern. I figured it would be that way in the ER especially on Sat night. So I just called a little clinic and the nurse said the Dr has left for the evening but they open at 10 am. I described what happened and the nurse said (without giving medical advice, of course) that if "she" wasn't bleeding or in horrible pain "she" would feel it was OK to wait till in the morning. So I will.

I'm pleased with the heart too, heathrjoy. :) The palm was a gift from one of my customers earlier this week. She pulled in the driveway as I was still on my knees finishing the bed for me to do another vehicle for her. She rolled down her window to holler to me complimenting how wonderful it looked where I chose to put it and drove to the back. It happened right then on the last smooth of the mulch just as I was finishing up and then I had to hobble up the driveway to get to the shop where she was parked. When she found out it just happened in the process of beautifying the bed with plant she'd given me she felt terrible. As if it was all her fault. LOL She's even called me this evening to check on me. :)

I managed to find a sewing needle in the yard. It was somehow driven through my tennnis shoe into the bottom of my foot.
Hmmmm? A needle in a grass yard? Did they get it wrong?

Also, not really enjoying wearing shoes I also drove a thorn deep into the ball of my foot. It took over 6 months before it finally ejected.

A coworker retired and during the 1st year decided he could trim the tree himself. Unfortunately while in the tree with a chain saw he trimmed his leg. Not a good way to start retirement. He is one of my roll models, those who remind me of what NOT to do.

Well, it's good to hear that the nurse more or less said you can wait. When my sis told me it's a 4 hour wait in the ERs around there it blew my mind, around here folks start to get miffed if they wait 30 minutes! Worlds apart.

How sweet of your customer to be so concerned and to bring you such a beautiful plant! What type of work do you do, if you don't mind my asking?

Ok, this didn't happen to me, or in a garden, but it's still worth telling....A few years ago my DB was remodeling his bathroom and when it came time to remove the bathtub he was excited and decided not to wait for help, but to do it himself. It was an older tub, so it was quite heavy, and it had a boxed surround built around it. He couldn't lift the tub out, so he got out his trusty crowbar and began to pry up the tub. He was standing on the boxed surround when it gave way. Since he was alone when all this happened and it's not one of his favorite topics of conversation, we're not exactly sure how it all happened, but the crowbar ended up wounding his back side. Not able to move very well, he laid on the floor and yelled for my DSIL, who wasn't home at the time, she was at the neighbor's helping them with their computer. He finally remember she had gone to help with the computer, so he crawled to the phone and called. The only problem with that was that the neighbor had dial-up internet. Each time he'd call it would ring and then disconnect them, but they had no idea who was calling. He kept calling, they kept re-connecting. Finally, my DSIL realized that the only person that would be that persistent would be my DB so she headed home...and found him in the upstairs bathroom on the floor swearing. The crowbar was still stuck under the tub when the group of friends and family came to remove it. Luckily, my DB has a great sense of humor and we got him "baby size" crowbars and plastic toy crowbars to commemorate his remodeling experience. My poor brother.

This didn't bleed hardly either BlueGlancer. The nurse did say he'd probably put me on antibiotics but give me a tetanus shot for sure.

Potemup, we had a neighbor in San Antonio that said he'd fallen on the wood pile and it took years for a piece of wood he had in his leg to work its way out and came out way down his calf from where it originated. No money for Dr when he was a kid.

I tint windows heathrjoy. My shop is here at home since I live in a residential/light commercial area. Lots of these old houses have business in them. It's wonderful to be able to work at home. Your poor brother! I bet he has to hear the jokes for the rest of his life. LOL Funny story.
I punctured myself when my daughter was about two trying to fix this big plastic horse she had. I found another just like it was was going to swap tails. It was screwed together and the screws were very tight. I slipped with the Phillips screwdriver and it went between my thumb and index finger in that curve. Small screwdriver. It HURT! I went to the bathroom and nearly made it to the sink when I felt the room spinning and everything felt like it was in slow motion. Next thing I know I hear my daughter in her little voice all excited saying"Oh boy! can I lay down on the floor like you Mommy ? " Like I was playing a game. So there we were, both on the floor looking up at the ceiling. LOL I doubt it was long that I was "out" but that is the only time I ever fainted.

Almost did when she had to have stitches in her head from making a tent in her bedroom out of a blanket and a heavy vase holding it up on a shelf. The vase fell when the kids moved the blanked being under it in the tent and bonked her on the head. She comes in to me rubbing her head with blood trickling down her forehead telling me what happened. I remember she didn't even cry until I carried her to the sink to wash it off and see the damage. When she saw herself in the mirror over the sink she starts screaming like it was killing her. LOL

I had that same slow motion feeling while the ER Doctor was sewing up her head but I just kept breathing deep and I was OK.

Right after Hurricane Charley, my husband and I were cutting up big trees to get to his DM. The last one was a huge pine across the road.

My DH jump out, fired up his chainsaw and started cutting. I was still in the truck when I looked up, and saw him grabbing his leg, and hollaring for me. I got him in the truck and I can see his pants all ripped and he was turning white.

I put the truck in reverse, flew backwards for about 1/4 of a mile, then headed for the hospital about 4 miles down the road. I was weaving around fallen trees, down pole lines, and all kinds of junk in road, plus water.

My husband, who is one to pass out at the sight of his on blood, was still hollaring....but it was for me to slow down before I killed him.

I finally made it to the hospital and they had only generator power. My DD got there shortly after we got there, and preceded to pass out in a wheelchair. There I was, one down, and one almost down.

Finally, DD wakes up, and DH gets sewed up....and I get a headache. DH had a chipped kneecap and 26 stitches. Thank God, the chainsaw was idling down at the time it hit his leg. The tree limb had cracked and kicked the chainsaw back at him.

And what does he do the next day? He climbs up a ladder where other men are trying to get a tree off our house because he thinks he has to help. I go outside and look up and he is standing on the roof in a pair of flipflops, with a leg brace, and a pair of crutches.

I made him get down.
I think he might have been a candidate for the Darwin award that day. For sure.

"he is standing on the roof in a pair of flipflops, with a leg brace, and a pair of crutches."

LOL! Die hard. :^D

I did the Dr this morning. And while we were at it I got a couple other things fixed that have been needing fixed, so I'm good as new. He said the muscle was hit so that's why it hurts when I flex or bend my knee or put weight on that leg. It's really better today. I'm barely limping and mostly just being cautious so it doesn't hurt. Steps are still a killer. Got my tetanus shot so I'm good for 5 years now.

My X had a chain saw accident too. He was sitting in the crotch of the tree cutting the limb. The whole limb hit the ground with the cut part then fell towards him knocking him out. The saw was still running (but not the chain!) and he sat there several minutes unconscious. Finally he got down and walked to the house with all of us (me, his mom and dad) worrying to death asking how he was. We made him go see the Dr even tho he seemed fine...except for the knot on his head... and he insisted he was fine. Two hours later, when we were on the way home from the Dr. he asks with a strange look on his face "where are we?" and doesn't remember a thing from the time it happened till then. As if he'd just woke up. Weird.

Darwin ~ here we come. Y'all have made tears and snot run here. I am sorry any of you were hurt in the least but this is just bad... LOL

The only Darwinian move I make on a regular basis is stepping on a "thrown down" rake, hoe ~ fill in the blank and yes, you guessed it. Smacks me in the head time and again. Maybe I will wake up and remember pretty soon. ROFL Sorry guys.. pod

Cutting lettuce in greenhouse, foot tangled in volunteer tomato plant, fell forward, Scissors cut cheek and eyebrow. Thankfully only needed "superglue" and $850 emergency room visit. Lots of blood! Only small scar on cheek and looks like I have a raised brow all the time. Lesson learned, Just cause a plant is growing and producing does not mean you have to leave the walkway blocked.

I was working in the field with my Ex and one of our sons. My Ex stepped right onto a pick ax he had left on the ground. It looked JUST like a cartoon. That pick came up and smacked him a good one. He was bend over and clutching his newly injuried parts, while his son was rolling on the ground laughing. Really, it was not the injury we that we thought was funny, but the classic cartoon nature.

Later, the same day, he goes to move the ladder. Unfortunately, he had not taken the crowbar down off the top of the ladder. It whacked his nose on the way down. We've been divorced a few years now, I doubt he picks up after himself any better now. Thankfully he is NOT my problem any more!

ROFLMBO ~ needed that this morning... is it any funnier as ex? LOL

The cartoon nature is it exactly. I have always loved slapstick humor and can even visualize it when I am the victim. I can be hurt and will start laughing. Too good. 8 )))

I can picture the incidents psych. ha ha ha! I believe you're right pod, it is much funnier when it's an X. LOL

Oh grammy ! you could have put your eye out! I've been hearing about the super glue stitch. I'll try that on my next cut. Years ago my father in law used to have some stuff called Nu-skin that he put over a cut to seal it like super glue.

all i can say is: OUCH!!!!!

kudrick, WHAT did you do and how? It certainly does look painful!

i was standing on a (rotten) wooden deck railing watering plants. the railing gave way and i fell 8 feet to the ground. my fall was broken by a 35 yr old azalea; fortunately we both made it.

I am so glad you were not hurt worse than you were!! It could have been so much worse! Sorry you are in pain,
Pat

Well, my experience was not exactly while gardening, but I was working with plants so maybe it counts?

I was walking on the pathway between two rows of banana plants in a small plantation here in south Fla.; the property owner was walking just ahead of me. He was carrying one of those iron bars we down here call "idiot sticks"; has a big knob on one end and a flat large chisel-like blade on the other end. What happened next, I'm amazed I actually remember.

He swung the stick up, knob facing back at me, and the knob end hit me full force on the forehead! Later he told me he was sure he would see me out cold after that, but I wasn't; I was standing there, stunned. Of course he took me back to his house and was very concerned that I would suddenly pass out or that maybe I had a mild concussion. He might also have been just a little concerned about getting sued, as I had been working for him in the banana plantation, removing suckers.

I don't think I even got a bruise from that. A hard head can be handy at times!