Definitely NFRC but I am so .....

J

joanietoo

Well-known member
feeling argh! about this...my dear gardener came in this morning sporting a bandaged finger ..left index...wrapped in a torn off piece of purple/blue t-shirt, all bloodied. He said he was using the machete last night at his home to cut grass "de ting, she mash up de finger" so what did he do as there was so much blood?

He first squeezed lime on the wound and then plunged it into CLOROX, of ALL things.

"But Mummy, I mus' the blood was bad"!

I was running late for work but had to help him. He had sliced into the top of the knuckle and so I/he washed it off with wet paper towel and antiseptic and then I wrapped it all in neosporin and bandaged it up.

He was not pleased that I made it a thick dressing (to keep his finger straight) but poor thing was shaking so. Silly man, (Men!?) He said he could not drive to the doctor when it happened as "I too bad Mummy!"

I will try to get him over tomorrow and dress it again.

OH ! BOY!!!

 
I feel your frustration.

Over the last few years in construction I've seen:

One member of our crew dislocate his ring and pinky fingers, literally pulling them out of the joints at the base. He ductaped all four fingers together to keep them from dangling and kept on digging.

Another suffered a flash back (over?) while fueling. He stood there, looking worse than any sunburn I've seen, no eyebrows or arm hair, his watch gone, and said "Just a little fire, I'll be fine" as I shoved him into my car and headed off to the hospital, complaining all the way. (He refused to let me call an ambulance and the car was by force.)

Another drilled a hole in his foot, called me and said "what should I do? Do I have to go now? Can't I wait until the end of the day?" And that job was at a hospital, down the corridor from the ER!

The boss doesn't set a good example, either, he superglues any wounds together and keeps on going.

 
I worked as an EMT in various emergency rooms for seven years. The people hurt the worst...

...are the ones who stand quietly in the background, with a t-shirt wrapped around their hand, leaning against a wall.

We were incredibly busy one evening (full moon), and I walked up to this guy to find out what was wrong with his hand. He said he pinched it with a saw blade at work and could wait until we were less busy. I asked to see the wound. When he unwrapped it I could see he had sawn off two fingers (they were in his six-pack cooler, on ice) and had stopped the bleeding by tying one end of the t-shirt tightly around his wrist.

He would have stood there indefinitely if I hadn't come over to take a look.

Un Real.

Michael

 
I gave him 2 advil this am and when...

I called the maid at 3 she said he had just left as he was feeling sore!...Of course the pain killers had worn off but in the meantime he had weeded and planted corn...we are having a wet spell and it means lots to him that food is being planted when the moon is right and "de rain coming mummy"

I called him and made him promise to come by tomorrow morning before he starts at his next job, I'll check the wound/redress it and if I can talk him into going to the doctor.

These folk are awfully proud and dont like to feel they are 'letting the side down'.
I said I will take him for a shot but he just would have none of it.
I see him on Monday again (after tomorrow am ) so will keep a careful eye on his finger, perhaps the home remedy ...clorox...has actually worked.

His main idea at the moment is to earn money to send home to the hurricane victims in Haiti. They are so worse off than him.

We gave him hefty donation to send home. The Hatians are quite amazing the way they club together to send money home to Haiti and their families.

Send him a little prayer.

 
Iknow what you mean. Our gardener in Guatemala was bitten by our dog..

He had a machete and our normally affectionate Brittany Spaniel went for his leg. He was sure that it was his fault and was determined not to let us take him for treatment. We convinced him that he would be better off letting us care for the bite than to lose his leg to an infection. Sometimes fear is the only tool you have.

These folks do work very hard for the little they can send home -- they are afraid of losing their work to illness. It is so good to be able to help them out, but so frustrating when they don't understand our motives!!

 
At the restaurant I used to work with, there was this guy...his hand was mangled a bit

and after months, I asked all the cooks. No one knew what happened to him, So I finally asked. He was back in Mexico, making food. He intended to cut a pig foot in half, but missed and cut a couple of his own fingers off! It was remote enough, they did what they could locally and that was that. He shrugged his shoulders and gave me a big smile like it was no big deal.

 
I dressed it this am and it appeared OK but he did not show up as promised for the afternoon

dressing, I am concerned and trying to get hold of him.

 
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