So...last night I was clearing out some dead things and deadheading when suddenly I moved and realized I had just stabbed my forearm with my scissors! No idea how but I had to make a trip to the ER and left with 3 stitches and a tetanus shot. It wasn't a very deep wound so I didn't get much sympathy from the dr. lol (he sure was cute!) It's swollen and bruised but not bothered me much, so I've been working outside again most of the day. :)
So...what is your worst gardening injury?
I'm sorry that happened to you. It makes my little cuts and bruises seem insignificant. Please take care of your arm or it could become infected.
Although this was not a serious injury, it was definitely would have been funny to see. I stepped on a rake and it came flying up towards my face.Something out of slapstick!
Paige, I hope you are more careful in the future! That could have been very serious.
I can't think of anything at the moment, too tired. But your story reminded me of my friend Char (volunteer at the butterfly exhibit), she cut off the tip of her finger with garden shears! She never wears gloves (still), bet you don't either!
Well, this is garden related....Reached overhead at the nursery to take a heavy bag of fertilizer off a shelf, and hurt my shoulder when I couldn't hold on to it. They put it in my trunk, and I reinjured the shoulder trying to get it out when I got home. Ended up with tendonitis and a bone spur, requiring surgery and 2 months physical therapy.
If you mean while IN the garden, that would be my back, which is out as we speak....
Oh no CJ, not the back. I guess I could be on that list after two back surgeries, and now DH having his second a week ago. LouC (Christie) is having major back surgery on the 12th, two days. Please send your thoughts and prayers out for her. What is this relationship? Gardening and back problems? Hmmm.......
How is your back doing now, Sheila? I recall that is why we haven't seen each other for a couple of years at round-ups....
The time I saw you in College Station, was before my first surgery. Since then I had disk correction done, but re-injured; then had a L4 & L5 fusion. Since that time, I have been great. Of course now the knee and hip are jealous! Getting old is the pits! The DH had a fusion also but it was a new proceedure and is doing great. They went through his side between muscles instead of cutting though those in the back. We are hopeful that it will be what he needs.
Sheila, if I read you correctly you said that you had knee and hip stuff that needed attention. If that is so let me just say HAVE IT REPLACED IF NECESSARY. I had a full hip replacement July 15 and today I can walk really well just w/a walker and sometimes forget to hold on to the walker and away I go. My real trouble seems to be that one leg is now longer than the other so I have to go be fitted for a lift. Incidentally, if you have a hip replacement get the anterior type done. Much easier than the other kinds because they don't have to cut muscles. A walk in the park!
Ann
Thanks Ann for the info. I am hoping to put it off for a while longer. I have carpal tunnel in my left wrist that really hurts a lot. I need to take care of that too. The body falls apart as you get older.....hey you young gardeners...take care of yourselves!
Amen to that about taking care of yourself. However, mine was a matter of Arthur and scoliosis which I have had since birth. Whatever - take care of yourself and don't put off what really needs to be done. The cure may seem drastic but in the long run you and those around you will be much happier.
Ann
When you said "those around you" I chuckled. Before my DH had his back surgery he was being very negative about everything. I prayed that God not only fix his back but his disposition. A friend added "and not necessarily in that order!) LOL!
But I am careful, which is why it was so strange. I must have been daydreaming but believe me, I will be extra careful now. Yikes, Char cut off part of her finger?! That is scary. I do wear gloves 80% of the time, especially when I am using the pruners. I was out yesterday and was leary of my scissors and pruners.
bananna, that's funny! I've done things almost like that but what usually gets me is when the garden hose goes awry and the water shoots me in the face! That has happened countless times, but at least I was just wet and not bleeding. lol
Who hasn't been cut by a tabbed lid on a can like dogfood, and doesn't think about it everytime you open one after that. It's called life lessons.
luckily havent had many actual injuries, other than the normal cuts and bruises, but have had a couple of painful incidences. i have a couple of hanging baskets that are very large and actually made of metal. i had just watered and was on my rolling thing working in the flower bed. when i went to stand up, didnt even think about the hanging basket and wham, almost knocked myself out! had to sit back down for a while. as you guys may know we move my garden here recently. put all my daylilies in clumps in plastic bags. anyway, i couldnt get them all replanted right away, so some sat in the shade for a week or so. i was out finishing planting them, wasnt really paying attention until i felt horrible stinging. fire ants had already made a nest in one of the bags and when i picked up the clump they crawled all up both arms! talk about jumping up, throwing gloves, etc. had a few blisters the next day, not too bad. hate fire ants though!
tracie
Well, blond "is" part of your name!! OOPS! she says as she squinches down under her desk.....Sorry about that, but sometimes I just can't resist.
I've done some stuff, too. Twice I have fallen backwards while trying to pull some well-rooted weeds. Then I look around to make sure nobody saw. I am small in stature, and sometimes can't get the leverage I need.
A couple of months ago, I was down on my knees, pulling some weeds. Then I found THEM. You know! The little red boogers. Fire ants! When I found them ( or they found me!) I jerked back, twisted my back, and was out of commision for about two weeks. No fun!
This isn't a gardening experience but is rather funny NOW that is.
Family went to the lake, I had an accident on skis that hurt my left leg so much to the point I was limping. ....bathrooms were down the road, so someone drove me. Upon returning I steped out of the car with my right foot...yep right into a fire ant bed. About the time I stood up and closed the door I felt them. I tried to raise my leg to brush them off, but couldn't put weight on my left leg. So I was screaming for help, hopping around....everyone was laughing except me!
LMAO - I've done the fire ant dance just a few times, myself. When we first moved to Texas (I'm a native Californian, my husband was born in Houston, so I consider myself a "legal" transplant) I tried to go outside barefooted. Well, needless to say, I learned real quick to keep a pair of shoes by the door!!
Sorry about your accident, Paige, but glad you're okay. And having a "cute" doctor fix you up almost makes it worth the trip, right? :-)
Carla
lol...I sure wish my single sister had been the one to take me to the ER! The fire ant dance seems to have become our "state dance"! I've got a couple of the big native sunflowers growing in my beds, as usual. They are getting pretty tall and a little leggy this year so I've been deadheading them (because I don't want 2000 next year) and for more blooms. The bumblebees love them and I've jerked myself around or away so hard so many times and then pray I don't wake up with my neck out of whack!
And how many have ever squatted down to prune, pull etc and sat on a stalk from a dead plant?! aahh!! LOL! In the winter I try to prune stuff down as far as possible now.
I can't say I've ever sat on a stalk. but just the mental picture brings tears to my eyes! OUCH!
Guilty!
After the evil fire ants are the dreaded paper wasps hiding out in the irises (both African and Louisiana) and daylilies. I'll be cleaning out dead leaves, and bang!! I don't even see them coming.
Mine was self inflicted. I insisted to dbf that he and I could lift and move my big cedar planter (which was/is full of dirt and plants) I jerked it up, felt something go pop in my back and I hit the ground. I'm so mad at myself (don't tell the dbf), They don't know if it's a pulled ligament or something is bulging (kind of like the rest of me, lol). Been doing the physical therapy thing but the pt thinks it's more serious. Oh well. Summer's over and I'm back at work now will be doing a lot of sitting.
Anne
To literally add insult to injury, my gardening-related mishap was witnessed by everyone shopping in the nursery section of Wal-Mart...
I was trying to pull some tomato cages off of a rather tall stack when...the whole stack toppled over on me, along with several nearby metal trellises and obelisks. I got a deep cut on my knee (this was 5 years ago and there's STILL a scar) and some lovely bruises. Was probably lucky in the end.
Lesson learned: even fiercely DIY girls need to ask for help every once in awhile. :)
Apart from that, I've suffered the usual: fire ant dance, tomato plant rash, attacked by thorns, cuts, bruises, pulled muscles etc. But I still love gardening!
This message was edited Aug 16, 2008 11:26 AM
Funny, ya'll should ask, cause I'm on steroids in my left eye for the SECOND time, since I stabbed myself in the eye with a MATURE Sago Palm needle on July 19th. It might as well have been a knitting needle!
I was using the short, handheld pruning sheers to cut off the lower fronds on a large Sago Palm. I was at the other house and hadn't brought the long lopers. So, I'm on the ground bending in to get to the lower fronds to tidy up the overgrown Sago. I knew when I poked my eye it was bad, cause it hurt like you know what!
Well, it eventually stopped hurting and I went back to the yard work. No problem, right? WRONG! Sunday morning when I woke up to brush my teeth was the first time I looked into the mirror. My eye was blood red. Oh, it'll clear up eventually. No problem, right? WRONG! I went to work Monday a.m. By 10:30, I could not tolerate light of any kind, or wind blowing on my eye. I could barely hold open my good right eye to see. My left eye would not stop tearing. I made a beeline for the optometrist/opthamologist who said it was reacting to a definite trauma, in much the same way as you get a bruise. You don't see the bruise immediately...
Well, steroid drops for 17 days. The first 4 days, 1 drop every hour. the next 4 days, 1 drop every 4 hours. The next 3 days, 3 drops. Then 3 days, 2 drops. The 3 days, one drop -- then stop.
Now, did I mention that abruptly stopping this medicine could cause steroid induced glaucoma? Well, guess who couldn't get with the schedule and ended up BACK at the doctor for an emergency visit cause she was suffering intense steroid withdrawal?
Well, I've been on schedule ever since that setback (I was up the whole night before feeling this stabbing sensation getting worse and worse in my eye. By the time I woke up that morning and turned on the light, you'd think someone had violently stabbed me in the eye with a GyNORMOUS toothpick!)....
Anyhow. That's my story and I sticking to it. And wearing goggles. And using the long lopers. And staying on schedule when I'm told to. And, and, and....
Personally I think that one just wins the prize. One giant box of Bandaids and a bottle of ointment to you!! lol It hurt just reading it.
Anne
That is too horrible to imagine!! You win!
Oh my, I totally agree! (even tho the WM metal avalance sounds really embarassing!) I barely had any pain and a little bruising. Yours is that gift that keeps on giving. ;) You need these ski looking goggles that I got when I had my Lasik. I kept them thinking those might come in handy sometime in the garden! Get well soon!
Hope you are beginning to feel better, GG.
I have almost always felt lucky to be wearing glasses, but occasionally when shredding limbs and leaves, have been struck in the face by kickbacks. DW bought me the best face shield available - Trend Pro. It has a battery powered fan that blows fresh filtered air across my face. No more breathing wood and dirt dust. It can't prevent having a piece of wood coming back out of the shredder/bagger, but it can only hit the body or the exposed ears, now.
Bubba.... where did she buy or order that? My DH has breathing problems and I have a lack of sense sometime. We could use something like that!
Not sure, but I do know that they are expensive. I showed her the reviews in one of my woodworking magazines. There is another that is great, too. It's compressor is belt mounted, but is not the best for a man with a beard. And I think it required a power cord. Trend is the only one that completely covers the face and beard.
I have bought replacement filters and batteries at "The Woodworking Shows". They make an annual circuit - arrive in Houston usually in April. www.thewoodworkingshows.com
Rockler's carries Trend,a nd you can save a bit by searching the web.
DW has always bought me some great tools - that's how I got the shredder/bagger. I take her with me to the "shows". That way she can see first hand why professional tools are the way to go.
Did just that, is this it?
http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/product/trend-airshield-trend-air-shield.html
That's the one.
I bet you make a very interesting statement if you are out in the yard with that on.
(Folks he is tall!)
When I shred the leaves in the front yard I look something like a haz-mat worker - long pants, long shirt, gloves, and Trend. LOL
But, I don't have any dust in my mouth, nose or eyes - however, we won't mention the ears.
Hey, there's another thing DW and get me - a set of sound deadening ear covers - with AM / FM would be GREAT!!
DH just refuses to use safety equipment. I nag, nag, nag to get him to wear goggles, and a dust mask over his nose and mouth. Oh yes, and ear plugs - like you wear to bed. That noise is deafening and I do believe it will cause loss of hearing. So, Bubba - go for it.
PS You have a GREAT DW!!! (Talkin' about YOU, Linda!)
Oooh, Bubba - Sounds like you got it all going on with your headgear! Very cool!
I've done a LOT of stupid things out in my yard. I always wonder where the other 2 stooges are! LOL!
I've given a hard jerk on the hose not realizing I was standing on or too close to it. Pulled myself down. I fall in holes that the moles dig ... hit the ground. I've pulled my little fisher price red wagon full of compost and soil going down the slope of my yard and been knocked down and run over. Well, maybe not completely ... it always stops when it hits my rearend. Thank goodness I got that cushion back there! lol I've snipped and cut my fingers pruning. Fire Ant dance is my native dance. Slipped and fallen into my water garden container/pond. Which is YUCKKKKKYYYY! Gross! Gotten my shirt caught on my picket fence and about ripped my shirt off as I bounced back. Gotten my ponytail caught on the lower branches of my trees and was hung there on tiptoes trying desperating to release my hair it pulled out a chunk. I do walkabouts at night with a flashlight and walked right into a giant spiderweb. I can SCREAM like no other! LOL! Not paying attention and walked right into a lower branch and about knocked myself out. (I cut all those low branches after that and the hair incident!) Sat down in a PVC lawn chair which collapsed because the glue had dried up and broken loose on the joints. I have some bushes with thorns in my yard and am forever getting pricked by them just walking by. Cut the top of my head as I stood up under a Shepherd's hook. I thought I was further away from it. Dropped a 40 lb. bag of compost on my feet when it slipped out of my hands. Thank goodness I was on the grass and not concrete. Kicked a garden border to move it and about busted my toes. I was using one of those extension hand saws and almost hit a powerline. Yes, my heart stopped on that one! And if that wasn't enough for one day ... I was cutting the tall branches of the vacant lot trees from my yard and had the branch nearly come down right on my head. I didn't realize how large that one branch really was! Yikes! It seems as I have gotten older, my sense of balance just isn't what it used to be ... I am forever falling off ledges, borders, corners of garden beds, that I am standing on to do pruning.
My dh refuses to let me use our chainsaw! I mean to the point of threatening a divorce. He firmly believes I would cut a major limb off ... not from a tree ... but my own body. He doesn't like to see a lot of blood ... so I am off limits to the chain saw... which IS probably a good thing! LOL!
Gymgirl - I think you have me beat by a mile with the eye injury! OUCH! Double OUCH! Now that is scary!
Not meaning to butt in on the Texas talk ... but I know Paige and just had to jump in here!
HI PAIGE!!! Long time, no hear from ya! This is a funny thread! Leave it to you to start such a topic! :-) :-)
This message was edited Aug 15, 2008 6:21 PM
Jump on in Becky....the stupidity pool is a large one! LOL!
Hi Shelia! Still gardening for butterflies? :-)
Hey Becky, I thought all the things you describe were normal! I could come up with a bunch of that stuff, too!! hehe The sinking into the mole tunnels is an easy thing to do around my house! We have some ankle-breakers around here, and spider webs - I just love running into those! DH thought he was real smart and attached a couple of sticks, thick and long ones, to his tractor before mowing some of our paths in the woods, but got them caught on a tree branch, the limb went for a ways, but came back to nearly knock him off his seat! So much for his "web trap".
Once, he thought he'd spray some wasps out of a bird house, way down in the back, but we were out of spray. Wish I had had the camera going, 'cause it would have been a winner on America's funniest home videos! He used some roach spray, and boy did it make those wasps MAD. I had never seen a man run backwards that fast! What was even funnier - he tripped over a tree branch while doing it, fell down, but got right back up and continued his backward trek, w.ithout breaking stride! It's a good thng I was in the house 'cause If he knew how hard I was laughing It might have caused a divorce!