There are two things that all men have in common--they won't ask for directions when they're lost, and they won't go to a doctor when they're sick or wounded.
Well, maybe not all men, but the men in my family.
So, it wasn't too surprising when I stopped at home after taping a cable show, before heading to a veterans' event, to find Curt on the deck. Middle of the day. Bleeding.
Not just bleeding...but BLEEDING. Underlined, all capital letters, bright red towel in the kitchen, used all the bandaids, holding his hand, BLEEDING!
"Hey, what happened," your Rep asked in a friendly tone of voice. At least, I thought it was friendly.
"Nothing, nothing," the Rep's husband replied. "I just cut myself."
"Can I see it?"
"No."
"What did you cut it on?"
"A light fixture."
"How?" (Dear readers, note the friendly Rep is getting less friendly the longer the inquisition continues.)
"Opening a box."
"A box. A light fixture. Did I already ask 'how'?"
"The packet attached to the fixture wouldn't come off and when I pulled on it I slipped and I cut my hand on the fixture and it didn't really hurt but there was blood in the box and I wondered how the hardware store would sell a bloody fixture and there was a notice inside the box to wear work gloves but you didn't know that until you opened the package."
"How long ago?"
"Two hours."
"What did you do?"
"I wrapped it in a towel and called Chris." (Another note to the patient reader: Chris is our son. He lives in Boston. He was at work.)
"What did Chris say?"
"Chris told me to go to the hospital, to the emergency room."
"Let's go."
"No."
"Let's go now."
"No."
"Now." (Readers note: my next step was to threaten to call an ambulance.)
"Now?"
"Now."
Next scene is Noble Hospital. Admitting nurse, triage nurse, doctor. All get the same story. Same questions. Same answers.
Except the doctor is half my age. Curt listens when Dr. Craig talks.
Curt gets stitches. Five at first. Then another ten. (After the artery he cut wouldn't stop bleeding.) And a tetanus shot. Big bandage, too.
I can't say enough good things about the Noble Hospital emergency room staff...from admitting to nurses to doctor to going back a couple days later for a wound check. Curt's getting the stitches out today.
It's not the first time the Hahn family has used Noble Hospital, and it won't be the last. I'm proud to have this community hospital in my district. And, you should be, too.
Oh...did I tell you the cable show I as taping was with an emergency room doctor? You'll see it on the Valley Channel next month!