Aidol's Story....... The Injury

Part 1


Unfortunately I had not thought about what might happen with rings on my finger while I was holding horses for the farrier. By the time the man left, my hand was so swollen it was impossible to remove my wedding band or my engagement ring. At the very least they were going to have to be cut off.

We didn't have anything on the farm that would do the job. I needed a doctor and quickly. I knew the rings were cutting off the circulation in my finger. It was beginning to turn blue...... well, maybe it was more like purple. I knew looking at them I never should have taken the time to stand there and held horses for the farrier. What I should have been doing was heading somewhere to get those darn rings off.

Quickly does not apply to the emergency rooms around here. They're more like an extended stay facility only before you get help so I decided not to even attempt to go there. Instead I headed to the closest Doc in the Box which just happened to be about 4 miles closer than the ER. I thought maybe there I could get reasonable help.

You know there's a reason those places get disrespected with a handle like Doc in the Box. You'd think with all the stories people tell that we'd all stay away from those places and they'd go away. At least that's the way it is around here. Unfortunately I heard most of the "bad" stories after I had my own to tell.

They did get me right in at Doc in the Box. They took x-rays before they did anything. They didn't want to cut off my rings until they knew what they were dealing with..........or at least that's what they said.

I don't know what it is about x-ray technicians that they must twist the hurting body part into some kind of pretzel but that seems to be what they do. I envisioned what kinds of torture I could do to the x-ray technician as she manipulated my hand into her various poses.

All the time the x-rays were being processed, my finger continued to swell even though I had brought ice from home. No one at the Doc in the Box ever even checked to see IF I had ice let alone to see if I needed more.

When the x-rays were finally ready, the doctor held them up to the light. According to this doc my finger was not broken, only badly sprained. They cut the rings off. Put a splint on my finger.Gave me my x-rays and a prescription for drugs. Then sent me on my way.

Just like the farrier, I wanted to choke this doctor right then and there on the spot. There was NO WAY my finger was NOT BROKEN. I may not be an expert but I could see the break on that film. Not to mention the bone couldn't have been turned 90° off straight and just be sprained. The darn turn was right in the middle of one of the digits for Pete's sake!!!

The only good thing about this Doc in the Box's diagnosis was it got me out of there. No telling what this guy might have done if he'd have tried to "fix" this thing when he couldn't even tell it was broken in the first place. At least I had the rings off, circulation was restored (or at least I hoped it was) and I had real drugs to get me through to an appointment with a REAL doctor.

This was before cell phones for me and maybe for most folks so I headed for home to call someone. By the time I got home my regular doctor's office was closed. The swelling in my finger seemed to be improving so I felt comfortable with waiting until the following morning to make an appointment.

Even with the drugs that darn finger kept me up all night. I couldn't believe how much something as little as a finger could affect my whole body. I was glad when the sun finally came up and it was time to call the doctor's office.

When I made the call they told me to head straight in and bring my x-rays so that's what I did. Of course when I got there they wanted their own x-rays.

Taking the second set of x-rays was not much better than taking the first set. Although this technician seemed to be aware what she was doing was causing me considerable pain, she tried to be gentle and acknowledged my discomfort. She also tried to be as quick as she could while still being thorough. I couldn't believe the difference in the treatment or the quality of the films.

As we waited for these new x-rays to process, my doc looked closer at the ones from Doc in the Box. Even from those not very clear films my doc could see the break to my finger. This was definitely not JUST a sprain. With clearer pictures he'd be able to tell how bad this break really was.

Once my doctor got the clear x-rays he pointed out the curve in the break. With a spiral fracture like this, what I needed was an orthopedist. It would be too easy to screw up the mobility in my finger if this break was not treated properly.

The doc's nurse made the call to the specialist. Next thing you know I was on my way down the road just a few more blocks. Again x-rays in hand, I was really hoping two sets would be enough. I didn't want to have to go through the torture of another set.

It just so happens this doctor's office was right across the street from the hospital. I didn't like the sounds of that much........ it sounded to me like surgery. That's the last thing I wanted to hear.

To be continued.............

The Treatment



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