Why is the Captain Writing This Today Or Where Is the Nearest Hospital?

On Wednesday, January 23rd , the weather got a bit better here in Mobile. The sun sort of came out and the temperature was in the 60s. I spent most of the day checking out the generator and cleaning the bilge area after the work that had been done while we were in Indiana. Linda, of course, was on the PC all day. About 3p the mechanic from Middleton Marina came by to perform the sea trial to ensure that all replaced filters are working fine and not leaking under real cruising conditions. We pulled out of the slip and headed out to the Bay. It felt good to have the boat moving again and be on the water, even if it was only five feet deep at times. The Bay is low currently with the full moon and sustained north winds. The boat checked out fine and we turned back toward Dog River.

This was the first time that I had docked when we had lines to pick up on the forward pilings. As I backed in I paused so Linda and Glenn (the mechanic) could grab the bow lines, then I continued backing in. With the bow secure, Linda then went aft to secure the stern lines. I was only able to get the boat back far enough so that the stern lines just reached the cleats on the boat. The boat was bouncing around a bit as well at this time. As I went from the helm to the stern to assist Linda, I heard her say, rather matter–of-factly “I broke my finger”. I secured the last line for her as she went inside to calmly remove her wedding ring and apply a dishtowel compress to her left hand. When she came back out I saw that this was not just a ‘broken finger’.

Now I must mention here that whenever anyone new will be handling the lines, the first thing Linda tells them is to NEVER get one’s hand between the line and the cleat. As you have guessed, this is exactly what happened when Linda “broke her finger”. As she opened the towel I could see that the tip of her ring finger on her left hand was about 90% severed, from just below the nail to the end. A small amount of skin on the palm side of the finger was still attached. To me, this is not a “broken finger”. Needless to say, we asked anyone around where the nearest hospital was, and took off quickly. When in the truck Linda quietly turned on the Garmin NUVI GPS and asked her (NUVI) to take us to the hospital, which she did. NUVI performed well, thankfully, as I never would have found the hospital by myself.

During the trip Linda was in extremely good spirits and felt little pain. Isn’t shock a good thing? She even joked about getting a discount on future manicures. I will confess that if this had been me, as soon as I saw my finger hanging by a thread I would have passed out, fallen off the boat and drowned. She just sat in the truck holding her finger tip in place and commenting on the houses we passed.

The Mobile Infirmary staff was wonderful and got her seen quickly. An orthopedic doctor was called in and the nursing staff kept us in good spirits as we waited for him. However, as people were now looking at her finger and moving it around, the blood and pain increased. Still, Linda was calmer than I was. The original ER Doc was very pessimistic about Linda’s chances of keeping the finger tip, but the ortho doc gave her at least a 50% chance of viability. The thought of losing the finger did finally sink in I think, and Linda began to tear up a bit.

The ortho doctor sewed the finger back on. This included taking off her fingernail, but the nail should grow back if the attachment is successful. The determining factor in keeping the finger tip will be how badly the soft tissue was damaged. We should know tomorrow (Friday) when we see the doctor for follow up care. We are remaining optimistic. According to Linda, the tetanus and antibiotic shots hurt as much as the finger. We left the hospital with prescriptions for a good painkiller and antibiotics. By the time we got back to the boat Linda was again in good spirits, aided somewhat, maybe, by the pills.

This accident just reinforces the idea that boating accidents can happen to even a very experienced person. Linda has handled thousands of lines over eight years without incident. There is an old adage that no one is a true sailor until they have a tattoo or missing digits. I will be getting my tattoo soon! Depending on the outcome of Linda’s follow up appointment and/or necessary physical therapy, we will probably go home for a few weeks. I am sure no matter the outcome, Linda will find a way to knit and work on the computer when all is done. We will resume the trip in mid to late February. At least it should be warmer then.

I must say that the folks here at Dog River are to be commended. They called to check on Linda several times through the night and again this morning. They also cleaned all the blood on the boat (there was quite a lot) and got the boat plugged back into shore power and otherwise set, while we were at the hospital. It was good to come back to a clean boat.