You healing up ok, FFF?

I severed 4 tendons in the back of my left wrist right when it turned Christmas eve (a couple of years ago).

Went to the hospital, got an saline drip stuck in, had a doctor check my head for injuries (I fell down a flight of stairs, too). Next day they moved me to day surgery, was told that no doctors nor op rooms were open. Offered me some morphine and the television remote.

Late afternoon rolls around, a doctor who just finished his 12 hour shift comes by, tells me that I can either go home and come back in a "couple of days" or that he can wrap a tournequette around me and sew me back up while the pretty nurse held my hand.

Got to scrub out my own wound with a surgical sponge, got an oral dissociative, a little IV barbituate, and some more morphine, then I got to see the doc poke around my upper forearm, grab a tendon, try to match it to its partner in my hand, suture them togather, then sew me back up.

I didn't even have my carecard with me. Total cost $0 (CDN, even).

There are a few kids in Vancouver who need ~$250,000 CDN/year worth of recombinant immunoglobulin to treat their life-threatening condition. They're not citizens (yet). The doctors at Children's Hospital bills it to this "shady" account that gets glossed over come fiscal review time.

Well, at least you didn't have to have stitches. About five years ago, I sliced open the top of the joint in my thumb. The cut was diagonal across it, deep, and about an inch and a half long. They made me wear this splint for two weeks that kept it extended straight. One day when I was changing the dressing, I accidentally bent my thumb a little, and those stitches just dug in... youch! So, for what it's worth, I know about finger pain, and you have my sympathies!

Ouch, porpoise.

I went through emergency at the Royal Vic last Wednesday because my sciatica was at its worst and my prescription was all out. I waited three hours, but I expected it to take that long and at least they gave me a bed. They also gave me two days worth of pills (free morphine!) since there's no 24hr pharmacy in this neck of the woods. The whole trip didn't cost me a cent, but I noticed at triage there was a sign saying that if you didn't have your health card or it was expired then there was an automatic minimum fee of $540 for a visit.

God bless universal healthcare!

What, the taxpayers on the hook for unaccounted $$$?

Naw, I'm down with my society taking care of it's members, even if they aren't yet officially inducted into the club.

compare FFF's story to my ghetto-ass doctor insisting that my kidney stone was toilet bowl chips, and my endless referral chasing. I may start hitching north.

North is good. I used to go up to Ontario a lot, the country was beautiful, the people were awesome, just a great, great place.

My mom grew up in central vermont, not all that far from the Quebec border, so one time when I was in high school, we visited Quebec City. I remember that every bar let my 17-year old ass in and that almost every woman on the street was supermodel level gorgeous.

How in hell would toilet bowl chips get into your kidney?!

Given jon's diet...

Oh, and I haven't had to use emergency services up here yet *knock wood* but this makes me feel like I'm in good hands.

On preview: LOL!

No stitches, 'cause I didn't care to wait around for them. Triage figured it'd be stitches, glue, or steri-strips.

My figuring was that if they couldn't have one of the two on-call doctors at least look at the wound and decide if it was so deep as to need stitching, it probably wasn't considered all that bad by the triage nurse.

Think I'll keep a close eye on this one. The knife wasn't clean, the cut seemed deep, and my wrist is aching.

On the whole I really dislike using our medical services. I expect them to be there for real trouble — like when my wife was run over: they had her as priority number one for a good four hours, from intake to post-op.

BTW, in what sort of accident does one sever four wrist tendons and fall down the stairs?

If it had been your achilles tendon, I might be able to imagine it... but your wrist?!

You try hanging on to the handrail with all your tendons severed.

-top of stairs holding a very large empty mug made of cheapo glass
-slip
-hit head, see mug shatter
-see glass shards approaching face
-flings up left arm, palm-towards-body
-hit head
-groan
-bleed
-see bone, pass out for a few seconds

I had a couple of minor cuts to my face, a couple of non-stitch-requiring but pretty nasty cuts to my chest.

The cut was diagonal across it, deep, and about an inch and a half long.

Sounds like we have semi matching scars.