Daily Dangers

So have you ever noticed that most people seem to get injured doing everyday things? A fellow at school severed his Achilles tendon while in Iran, stepping on an uneven sidewalk. My landlady broke her ankle on her driveway last year. And I severed a tendon in my ankle in Austria years ago not skiing but stepping off a curb!

So in the land of sharks, crocs, snakes, spiders and even gum trees that drop branches in the heat, killing people, I ended up in hospital from a kitchen accident.   I dropped a china bowl and it shattered on the ceramic tile floor. When I went to pick up the pieces there was blood everywhere spurting out of a 2 cm long gash below my right ankle.

No one was home so I applied pressure (with a tea towel) and elevated my foot. I called Deb and when she arrived the scene in the kitchen looked like Freddie Krueger was Down Under!  

She drove me to Flinders Emergency Department (just down the hill from where I study). After an hour long wait (not bad) I was admitted.

The nurse was initially quite serious but when the physician arrived it was like a Monty Python episode. He was British and sounded just like John Cleese. After a quick look he said "we'll need to amputate above the knee". Joking and banter ensued. In the end they decided not to stitch but sealed it with glue and tape.

'John' finding pictures of a stray cat he adopted!

Deb about to 'tag' her fluorescent 'Visitor' badge