I was laying a Pergo floor for a customer and was working on the last peice of flooring. It needed just a trim to fit and I was using an utility knife (with a new blade) to get the last bit of wood off to fit.
I was in a hurry and didnt get my left and trigger finger  out of the way before cutting. It slipped and took a chunk of skin about the size of a thumbtack head off, before glancing off the bone and burying the blade in a second wound betwwen the knuckles deep enough to hit bone again. 6 stitches for that one.
I tried to get a bandage on it but the blood was coming out faster than I could get the tape to stick. So I cleaned up my tools and tried to put pressure on it with a rag to collect the blood.
Blood soaked through and I tried to unpack my first aid kit to get at some #5 sutures. My hands started shaking and I figured it would be useless. I carry a spray blood coagulater but have never felt good about putting foam on a wound, I happened on some surgicell at a gunshow a while back and used quite a bit of it as I couldnt cut a peice off the right size. So I used it all. It controlled the bleeding until I drove home where I thought I could get my wife to do the sewing.
When I unwrapped the rag at home over the sink it at dried a bit and stuck to the rag which opened the cut again. Wife was not impressed at the amount of blood and drove me to the emergency room.
I`ve had bigger cuts and punctures but never this much blood.
This showed me that no matter how well prepared you are for small emergencies you never take everything into account. This is why the buddy system is important. Not only should one have a buddy while out where medical treatment is not close, but he or she should know what to do when some treatment.
Pain medication is wearing off and she`s athrobbin`.
Thanks for letting me cry to you.[>Q]
Before anybody gives the bwahahaha. I`m trying get a point across, it wasnt such a big deal but I learned that although I knew what to do and had the means to do so, I was unable to. Kay?  

Just make sure that you fireteam is as well trained as you are.  Husband/wife fireteams are not a good idea, too much emotional involvement

Message received. Glad you made it home to your
buddy. Hope you heal without complications.

Some people brag about the darndest things here!! [:D]

[i](Just kidding.)[/i]

It might be tough to shoot two handed with a giant bandage. I have a little get together planned for Sunday and worse have a large two day uspsa match the following Sunday. I just tried to get a decent grip with a handgun and it dont look good. Maybe I can get a smaller dressing by then. Major bummer on that count.

Christmas of 2000 slamed my trigger finger in the door of my mini van. It was so cold that I didn't know it was in the door till I looked what I was cought on. Well not cought on anything finger stuck in the door. Then it hit me. It hurt. Nothing broken they put it in a splint very bad cut and swolen. Cut right on the knuckle. Still feel it. Took a long time to heal. I was afraid I would never shoot again. Good luck.

Man, I still get the willies thinking about box knife cuts from 12 years ago.  Never *quite* that bad, but close.

Good luck with it.

Thanks, I forgot to mention. I turned on the hose to rinse it off at first and the hose was in the hot sun, it was 90 here today. Of course the water was over 90 and I didnt wait until the water got cool. That hurt worse than the stitches and Lidocain shots.
No brains No headaches

well it looks like we'll have to stop calling you all thumbs, and change your name to stubie[BD][B(][BD]

I was just going to say, "there goes the Sunday Shoot"

Oh and,
"Quit Goofing off"
and "GET BACK TO WORK "!!!

That Job was supposed to be finished last week.
How much are we paying you now?
Whatever it is it's too much!!!

BTW, while you are down there getting stitches,
Don't forget to "Submit your Urine sample".

Damn Slacker.

Sorry Rich I couldn't resist.

Peace

Good thing it was my job or they would have asked for some peepee. That mighta made me mad.
Thanks Del I be laughing.
2 weeks is the normal answer to "when will it be finished?" 2 weeks later I tell em it`ll be done in 2 weeks. Honest.
Yesterday I had some bozo watch me all day and ask stupid questions while I put 4 thresholds in slabs. I was ready to poke him in his eye by the time I left. Then they hold the check hostage while they point out other things that need fixin.
Older folks like to hold the check while they talk and show you pics of their grandkids. I smile and nod at all the right places.

In a situation like this who gets stuck with the medical bills? I assume that you are self employed/independant contractor so there is no workers comp. Do you have your own medical insurance to covered on the job accidents? Or are you going to go adfter the home owner via his home owners insurance policy.
The reason I ask is I have heard horror stories about homeowners hiring unlicensed contractors for home repair. Then when the repairman is injured in an accident the homeowner gets stuck with the medical bills.
For that reason i only hire licensed contractors who carry medical and workers comp for their employees.

I did something similar, cut the tendon in my index finger.  Lots of blood, tried to fix it myself but when I couldn't fully extend my finger and I couldn't stop the bleeding I had someone take me to the hospital.  Had to pack my stuff up to fly home the next morning so I did it before the meds wore off.

Hey Rich, be more careful dude! Didn't you also have a little knife accident at the Burro Cyn I shoot?

BTW, what do you charge to install Pergo per sq. ft.?

ACK Blooood, eeewwww thats sounds nasty
you were gonna let your wife sew it? damn that sounds crazy, but i guess you got your own brand of painkillers

accident happen real easy, just today i was kneeling down loading sodas in the frige, i was home alone, kind of stood up and hit my head against the freezer door above me, right on the pointy part of the door handler. the impact made me loose my balance and fall back on the floor for a sec. i could feel he blood rushing to the bruise and was hoping it wasnt bleeding, it didnt. but made me think how easy things can happen.
just last month while in the mtns on a snow trip, and 1/2 mile away from the truck in knee deep snow, and 30 miles from the nearest hospital (or anyone for that matter) i almost went hypothermic, humbled me quite a bit.

Went to the ER a few years ago after I rolled a 4 wheel drive in an accident.  While I was being admitted, another EMT team rolled in with a suicide victim.  Everyone forget about me and jumped on that guy.

Will never forget his blood pouring out on the floor like out of a bucket.  They pulled the curtain between us, but it wasn't hard to hear the guy was DOA.

As for me, my concussion and numerous broken ribs made for a most enjoyable visit-NOT!

PS, your mom was right about always wearing clean underwear.  The admitting nurse removed my pants by splitting the crotch with scissors.

AR15fan- I`m leagal and would never go after a customer`s insurance. They are my livelyhood and it just dont sit well with me. I recently sold my construction company but kept the handyman aspect of it. Insurance is cheaper for a handyman services.
MaddMatt.- yep my Emerson Commander drew it`s first blood that day. That wasntbad but it wasnt good either. I was wondering if anyone would bring that up. Nice to know someone was paying attention. No one shook my hand after that. I wonder why?[:)]
I dont charge by the sq foot. I charge by the customer. If yourt interested I could give you an idea of the cost. If you live too far I could give you an idea of cost so you dont get ripped. Actually I could tell you how and save some cash. Pergo is very easy to floor. Just make sure you buy their glue and follow the instruction, it`s a floating floor which means it is not nailed or glued to the existing material. It`s quite stable and much more durable than hardwood. If you like the look, I`d go with Pergo or Bruce. Make SURE you rent the tensioning straps that Home Depot rents for under 40 bucks a day. It cannot be done without those straps.
Platform- The bed next to me had an older lady that was bleeding from her........uh.....balloon knot. and was quite emBAREASSED.
tHERE WAS ALSO A FEW REAL PRETTY NURSESopps cap lock, and I was worried the wife would catch me looking, she was making sure I wasnt looking, by the sideways glances, everytime one came by.