The Dangers of Fishing

Looking at this picture, one would never think that fishing can be dangerous:

But Saturday morning, that theory was proven wrong.  After our walk around the lake, John decided to do some fishing while I grabbed a chair and started reading.  He got a bite from a perch that was a pretty good size fish.  Proud of his fish, he turned around to show me his catch.  That's when the fish decided to fight back.

The slimy perch scrambled in John's hand and detached itself from the hook.  With all the commotion, John didn't watch the hook too close and this is what happened:

Ouch, ouch, ouch!  That hook was lodged in there.  So John tried to do some self-surgery (because there was no way I was going to be able to slice it out).  He washed it off and used a box cutter to try and cut it out.  After slicing into his hand and not able to get it out, I finally talked him into going to the local "hospital."

So off we go to the emergency room about 12 miles away.  My goal for the drive was to be supportive and not pass out from looking at it.  We checked in and they got John back right away.  The staff didn't seem too shocked and after asking, they see this all the time.

When the nurse asked John what his pain level is, he responded with a 2 out of 10.  I would have been howling and my pain level would have hovered somewhere around an 8 or 9.  They gave him a tetanus shot and then the doctor came in to get the hook out.  I finally saw John wince in pain when she shot his finger up with Novocaine so it looked like a puffy clown finger. 

She pulled and wiggled, once telling John she didn't need his help to get it out and for him to sit still.  Then she finally got it.  John went to grab the lure and she freaked out, stating that she's had people re-hook themselves before.  I'm not sure what kind of moron would hook themselves, need a doctor to help them get the hook out and then grab the hook and re-hook themselves again.  I can only speculate.

So after all that, John's finger was finally free and clear of the hook.  He was feeling fine and I was able to take him home.

And like John, he went back to doing all the things he normally would have done up at the lake... except for fishing.