A rennovation exploration

The $110 Nail

This weekend provided multiple learning opportunities...none particularly fun.

Instead of moving further on our insulation project Mark spent 4.5 hours in the hospital ER. Nothing major (but feel free to send get well gifts) except annoyance. While trying to pry loose a board he managed to get stuck on a dirty, rusty nail hanging down from the roof. The nail went a ways into his middle finger, making a fun wound to show off.

The major bummer of this experiment was that Kaiser insurance isn't very helpful on a weekend. According to their website, the place to get after hours care is the local hospital. Unfortunately the services that are "after hours care" and therefore cost $50 are limited to throat cultures for strep. Everything else is an "emergency" even if you haven't been bleeding for the last several hours. The tetanus shot was apparently an emergency procedure.


The offending nail

In this incident, womankind proved once again that they have all the brains. Mark wanted to wait until Monday to go to the regular doctor and get a shot, Jen said no. The nurse and doctor both sided with Jen and said it was a good idea to come in immediately for the shot.

Things learned this time around:

• The best way to get to be first in line at the ER is to be really fat and have chest pain. some 416 people got to go before Mark with this complaint
• Saturday evening is not a good time to go to the ER
• Despite the desire to wait, you are supposed to get to the doctor within 48 hours (and sooner is better) any time you get a dirty puncture wound or cut yourself deeply while doing something like cutting chicken.
• Tetanus shots are now given out every 5 years, not 10 like Mark thought.
• Tetanus shots make your arm hurt really badly when you try to work over your head doing the rest of the insulation and are generally a big baby.
• It's not nice to chuckle at the guy who is in the ER with his terrified girlfriend after her cat mauled his ear, but it is officially ok to laugh after she's gone.
  
• You get to have more fun and less injury when you just use the wrecking bar to remove (smash) the boards instead of trying to neatly pull them off.
  

posted by Our House @ 9:58 AM