Tool Talk
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Chillylulu on July 20, 2014, 02:17:19 AM
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Last Saturday I was shoveling amended top soil off my truck into a flower bed next to our driveway. I had a bandage on several of my fingers, including the midfle finger of my right hand. It was getting dark and I was trying to finish up.
I didn't realize that the bandage had tore up and dirt was pushing into a small cut I had there. When we went into the light I saw the dirty wound. So we cleaned up with antibacterial soap, put stuff on it, and re-bandaged the finger.
Wednesday my fingertip started to swell, Thursday it looked worse, so I called my Dr. I went in thursday at 4:00, They gave me a shot off pennicillin, some oral pennicillan medicine, and a tetanus shot. I went back in at 7am Friday and got another shot. Dr. ordered a MRI for that day.
Bottom line is I have been in the hospital, admitted for the first time in my life. At least one 1 more day.
Major bummer, might lose a finger tip.
Chilly
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Wow, that's awful. All that happened in just a week's time. We'll be prayin' for the best for you Larry.
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Praying you will be 100% well soon. Those little bugs can be dangerous.
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last year i had 2 finger tips pinched off,didnt touch the nails...i had the option for skin graft or no...i chose no...it took a while but it all grew back.missing a fingerprint though. good luck with yours....stupid me ,never missed a day of work.
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Wow! Sorry to hear about your ailment.
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I guess that you never know what bugs lurk out there, I had heard of life threating infections from something as small as a rose bush prick. makes you wonder how anyone survived before antibiotics.
chilly, get well soon...
Joe B
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Dang, Chilly, hate to see someone laid up over a nice summer. Hope it gets better and soon. Young guys at work are always pooh-poohing me when I wear gloves for some work, their turn is coming.
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They operated today. They were going to put me out, but once I told them I didnt have sensory nerves in that finger the finally just went with a local.
No bone lost yet, but I may yet lose the tip piece.
These new resistant bacteria strains are hard to deal with. I am on two intravenous antibiotics and one oral one. The antibiotics make me tired, other than that I feel fine. Everything else feels the same.
Its funny, the nurses, doctors, assistants, specialists et al. all ask me how my finger feels. From my standpoint it is like asking Ray Charles how many fingers you are holding up. That finger has no sensory nerves. Period.
Thanks for all the kind words, hope to get a mess of pictures up soon.
Larry
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Hope everything works out for you, good thing they caught it in time, could have moved up the hand & more... they can be nasty buggers...
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Sounds like you're dealing with MRSA.
It's a damn nasty bug, and can be difficult to whip. I know of a man who lost a finger to it fast because his own dog bit him while they were playing.
You'll get to learn a whole new bunch of words like antibiogram and a few others.
Odd as it seems, the sooner you can get out of the hospital the better off you'll be. Hospitals are full of nasty little bug critters.
Just remember the ball busting you'll get back at the sprinkler shop will make the hospital look like a vacation.
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Dang, that sucks. I'm forever getting cuts and slices on my hands, and then working in the dirt. No bandages, no creams, no nothing. Sounds like maybe I ought to start being a little more careful.
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Sounds like you're dealing with MRSA.
It's a damn nasty bug, and can be difficult to whip. I know of a man who lost a finger to it fast because his own dog bit him while they were playing.
You'll get to learn a whole new bunch of words like antibiogram and a few others.
Odd as it seems, the sooner you can get out of the hospital the better off you'll be. Hospitals are full of nasty little bug critters.
Just remember the ball busting you'll get back at the sprinkler shop will make the hospital look like a vacation.
Luckily, at the shop they treat me really nice. They know what I've done and how I weasle things to keep them working. We have a lot of branches, ours was the only one that didnt have to lay off. We took hits in other ways to make sure nobody lost a job. I brought in a lot of work during the slow times. I know those guys would do anything to keep the committments I made, and they knew I'd find a way to get the work. Its a great place to work.
This typing with my pinky is new, though.
The funniest thing they said last week when it began to swell is that I'd lose my ability to communicate as freely (its my middle finger.) The weird thing about that is that I rarely cuss, I guess it was too easy a set-up.
If I ever do use an expletive, the whole room goes quiet.
Chilly
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Just dam Chili; You sustained a grievous injury to a craftsman's major communication system. That just might qualify you for SSDI, or at the very least qualify you as a Disabled Worker bringing the shop more SSDI points for Government work getting.
Maybe the real mechanics in the shop can hold a comparison session to see who has the finger matching yours closest. Good mechanic ought to be able to grease that finger up well and make a plaster cast. Then find a painter and borrow a tube of RTV silicone sealant from him and make up some prosthetic pointers for you to use.
Good thing you don't make a living giving digital rectal exams or massages. You'd be up S**t Creek.
I wouldn't get overly concerned about lack of communication skills though. I didn't talk to anybody for at least 2 years when I first got to the kid prison the fancy people called a home for boys. Saw my file when they ran me off cause I aged out and it said I might be retarded cause I didn't talk to anybody. I figure it never occurred to any of them professional people running the place ever bothered to figure out I neither spoke or understood English. Retarded worked out well for me as time went on.
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I wouldn't get overly concerned about lack of communication skills though. I didn't talk to anybody for at least 2 years when I first got to the kid prison the fancy people called a home for boys. Saw my file when they ran me off cause I aged out and it said I might be retarded cause I didn't talk to anybody. I figure it never occurred to any of them professional people running the place ever bothered to figure out I neither spoke or understood English. Retarded worked out well for me as time went on.
Made my day!
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>them professional people running the place ever bothered to figure ...
Some of the most incompetent people I have met in my life were people whose job it was to judge if other people were competent....*sigh*
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>them professional people running the place ever bothered to figure ...
Some of the most incompetent people I have met in my life were people whose job it was to judge if other people were competent....*sigh*
Hey, me being retarded forced the bustards to quit beating on me to get the Silver Dollar Mickey Rooney gave each kid from me. I just lost mine. Found it a while after the crap ended.
Only thing the bustards were competent to do was run the government checks to the bank and give me a ride to the Army Recruiter when my name scratched off the check list.
They were real competent at selling them Christmas seals too.
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I'm out!
They put a picc line (some kind of tube that runs from under my right arm by my bicep to just above my heart) in and let me out on personal recognizance.
Mrs. Chilly has to pump antibiotics into me for 2-6 weeks.
The end of my fingertip is split open to the bone, but the bone is still there.
So, no yardwork for awhile.
And my advice for all you is -
1. Make sure your tetanus shot is current.
2. Be careful with those old tools we like so much, you never know where they've been.
3. Take swelling infections seriously, and if you start to get red marks or lines running away from a wound, have it checked out.
4. Do what you think is best. Medical practice is just that, practice. If I had listened to the nurse practicioner working for my family Dr., it would have been worse for me. Death wasn't out of the question.
5. Get lots of rest regardlous.
Chilly, glad to be mostly back.
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Yahoo, you busted loose! I visit the ER every few years, so my tetanus shot is always up to date. Glad to hear you are recuperating. Once saw the bone in my thumb, a numbing sight.
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You got lucky Chilly.
Buzard Breath's wife "retired", now she only writes textbooks, as an Infection Pervention & Control practitioner and some of the stories of the shit that happens in hospitals are damn frightening.
I'm fully convinced you best be ready to protect yourself if you wind up in a hospital ED, cause a ton of germs get passed from patient to patient there. You look at the crap on the ceiling and it will make you scared in most of them.
Got to listen to one of the ladies who developed that PIC line insertion technique and it too can lead to more infections than you can count if it ain't done properly. You just need to google up the information and keep your eyes open.
Now, since you're relaxing and killing time, what do you know about Co2 deluge systems?
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I know about co2 deluge systems. We dustribute Ansul engjneered systems out kf Denver. I've been designing and working on clean agent systems since the 1980's.
Chilly
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I know about co2 deluge systems. We dustribute Ansul engjneered systems out kf Denver. I've been designing and working on clean agent systems since the 1980's.
Chilly
OK, if I manifold 6 75# cylinders of Co2 into a 2" pipe going into a 24 x 44 shop, with a center wall, will I need to center the T for distribution or can it just be piped like potable water?
Will that be sufficient to flood the 10 foot tall building until the Fire Dept arrives, or should I go with ABC powder and cleanup costs?
The valves I have are Kidda.
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I know about co2 deluge systems. We dustribute Ansul engjneered systems out kf Denver. I've been designing and working on clean agent systems since the 1980's.
Chilly
OK, if I manifold 6 75# cylinders of Co2 into a 2" pipe going into a 24 x 44 shop, with a center wall, will I need to center the T for distribution or can it just be piped like potable water?
Will that be sufficient to flood the 10 foot tall building until the Fire Dept arrives, or should I go with ABC powder and cleanup costs?
The valves I have are Kidda.
If this us a normally occupied area I would not use co2. Too dangerous. If using for spot protection it may be okay. What is the hazard?
The goal is to reduce oxygen to 15%, or thereabouts. There is a sweet spot where we breathe, but there isn't enough o2 for fire.
CO2 isn't necessarily used here, rather a mix of inert gasses. Inergen is nitrogen, argon, and CO2, if I remember my training right. CO2 is 5% or less and is used to increase human respiration.
Have you heard of Stat-X? Look them up at stat-x.com pretty cool.
The stuff was discovered when russian rocket scientists discovered that the exhaust from their rockets extinguished fire in some weird way. Works like Halon, inhibiting the chemical reaction of fire.
Chilly
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Shop building. The trigger mechanism will be a 5# bottle of Co2 that activates the valves on the main bottles. It will be triggered from outside the building as a system to save the building and machinery.
Fire Department won't arrive soon enough to save anything and can not be trusted to attempt to do anything beyond cooling the ashes of a shop. We have the Co2, can't afford any of the Halon agents.
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Bad news yesterday - the nasty infection was in my bone. Osteomyelitus they call it.
So today I am going in for outpatient surgery and they will re-digitize me. Basically, the hand surgeon will remove the last joint of my middle finger.
My wife asked what I wanted to do tonight after all this is done. I told her I wanted a "point-less" party. So that is what we are doing, we invited all our kids, grandkids, in-laws, brothers and sisters, etc. over tonight. We'll eat ice cream cake from DQ and have some fun.
I asked if I could keep my bone, not sure why. I told my wife it is for when grandkids ask where the rest of my finger is, I can tell them I have it in a jar somewhere.
Oh well, if its not one thing its the other. Either you're putting in new flower beds or they're removing the tip of your finger.
At least now I don't gave to worry about how I'll deal with no fingernail. I'll always be a little short handed.
Is there any point to all this rambling? Not anymore......
Chilly
PS Seriously, be safe everyone. There us some nasty hidden stuff out there.
(http://www.danasoft.com/sig/chillysign.jpg)
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Insist on taking the fingertip home with you Chili if for no reason other than to enjoy the entertainment when all the medical professionals explain you can't.
A good tactic is rocking on the balls of your feet yelling It's mine and I want it.
Be ready for the wife telling you that you're acting like a 3 year old.
Reply that you're being treated like a child, ergo you will act like one.
You deserve to have some fun after all.
It probably won't work, but what the hell, staff will remember you, and your wife will have a good story to tell the girls.
Plan ahead, next time anybody suggests you use a shovel, drop it every time you pick it up and claim you developed a shovel allergy after loosing part of your signaling finger. Might even extend to 48" pipe wrenches too.
You might even be qualified as a Disabled American for EEOC purposes. The allergy alone should get you over that hump.
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sorry to hear,i guess you'll get use-to it.
reminded me,many years ago,driving a dump truck(B model mack),i jumped off the top,my wedding ring got caught on a piece of metal...lucky me it was a loose fit and came off...only cut me a little.
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Ouch
I am missing the last 1/4 inch of my left first finger.
Never *never* ever push the roller back under the milling machine you are pushing across the floor when it bounces out, at least, not with your hand...
You adapt, eventually, but it is a long eventually, and never completely :(
(Stray weird thing, was still in high school at the time, they insisted I had to take typing class, even though I had one finger wrapped up in bandage most of the semester...learned a lot in that class...not...idiots)
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They wouldn't let me take anything except pictures.
Something about people taking human body parts to Wendy's and claiming there's a finger in the chile.
Some people ruin it for all of us.
We had our party, it was great reason to get the family together. Mrs. Chilly asked if I had a good night, I responded that I had a wonderful night. For me there is nothing better than family.
We got a large cake from DQ:
(http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac6/chillylulu/Tools%20Sized/july%20tools/IMG_20140724_195017_839_zpskmhggq9u.jpg) (http://s880.photobucket.com/user/chillylulu/media/Tools%20Sized/july%20tools/IMG_20140724_195017_839_zpskmhggq9u.jpg.html)
Chilly
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Hope this is it for those little buggers... Get well soon & take care of yourself...
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You didn't remember to ask the nice person with the clipboard to check the box for [ ]wearing clean underwear, did yo.
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You didn't remember to ask the nice person with the clipboard to check the box for [ ]wearing clean underwear, did yo.
I was real worried about that so I didn't wear any. :huh:
Chilly
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Been pondering and cogitating on it for ya Chilly.
Seems like once the swelling goes down we can whip you up a pointer from an inch or so of 3/4 copper tube and a table knife blade. If I can locate a small laser pointer to slip in there you might be known as the Point Man on jobs.
Probably be real handy for scratching too once you get the hang of it.
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Been pondering and cogitating on it for ya Chilly.
Seems like once the swelling goes down we can whip you up a pointer from an inch or so of 3/4 copper tube and a table knife blade. If I can locate a small laser pointer to slip in there you might be known as the Point Man on jobs.
Probably be real handy for scratching too once you get the hang of it.
(best not use that hand for wiping anymore though, heh heh)
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Been pondering and cogitating on it for ya Chilly.
Seems like once the swelling goes down we can whip you up a pointer from an inch or so of 3/4 copper tube and a table knife blade. If I can locate a small laser pointer to slip in there you might be known as the Point Man on jobs.
Probably be real handy for scratching too once you get the hang of it.
(best not use that hand for wiping anymore though, heh heh)
Owww...... that sounds like a pain in the fanny.
Maybe I need different ends, like a toolkit. I could carry a few in my pocket.
The pointer, little back scratcher, a tip that works on touch screens, one of those little vibrating tips, etc.
I didnt lose the whole 1-1/8" - I think I lost 5/8" or so. On the top from the base of nail to the end.
I hope I don't mess it up. Most normal people would accidently use it and hurt. I don't have those sensory nerves. I caught myself using that finger while using a caulk gun earlier.
I'll try to be good.....
Chilly
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Been pondering and cogitating on it for ya Chilly.
Seems like once the swelling goes down we can whip you up a pointer from an inch or so of 3/4 copper tube and a table knife blade. If I can locate a small laser pointer to slip in there you might be known as the Point Man on jobs.
Probably be real handy for scratching too once you get the hang of it.
Rumor is that's how Captain Hook lost the eye.
(best not use that hand for wiping anymore though, heh heh)
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Awww Phil, you missed the last tip I mentioned.... multiple uses there.
Chilly