BWCA Trip Report - Bummer in the BW Boundary Waters Trip Reports
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Hawk777
member (45)member
  
06/23/2019 08:11PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
New Trip Report posted by Hawk777

Trip Name: Bummer in the BW.

Entry Point: 24

Click Here to View Trip Report
 
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06/23/2019 08:15PM  
Looks like that was pretty painful. Amazing how quickly accidents happen, it must have been a long night for you. Good reminder for everyone to pack first aid. Glad you're alright.
06/23/2019 08:30PM  
Anything can happen on a trip. I broke my fibula a few years ago on the last day, quite away from from where my vehicle was. Made it out OK without contacting the authorities.

I'll probably get trashed here, but the last thing I would ever bring on a BWCA trip would be a hatchet or axe. Way too easy to hack a shin or finger/hand. A saw does most of what you need to get done with wood duties. If I needed to split wood, I would bataan.

Tomster
Hawk777
member (45)member
  
06/23/2019 08:31PM  
Yes, long night. And you never know when you’ll need medical supplies.
jillpine
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06/23/2019 08:47PM  
Friend,
As an emergency veterinarian (not a "real doctor" as I am reminded), I am going to go out on a limb and suggest you see a wound care specialist for this injury to your hand. This is a serious injury with what we called delayed closure, elevating the risk for complications with healing. I am sorry ~
JillPine
billconner
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06/23/2019 08:49PM  
My condolences. I wonder about first aid gear I carry but guess I'll stick to carrying it.

I carry neither hatchet (no ax) nor saw and never missed them.
06/23/2019 09:08PM  
Bummer. Hope it heals well without complication. I no longer bring a hatchet (ax), but my wound wasn't quite as bad, although stitches probably would have been a good idea.
06/24/2019 05:50AM  
That sounds really deep. Hope it heals alright. I'm guessing you were holding the piece and just missed?
06/24/2019 07:27AM  
Yikes.

And there goes any lingering desire to carry an axe...

Hope you fully recover, and rapidly!
burrow1
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06/24/2019 07:36AM  
I'm surprised that the DR. stitched it up. Unfortunately in my line of work stitches are common place. My DR. has told me that he wont sew up a hand 4-6 hour after injury due to the risk of infection. I hope that they started you on precautionary antibiotics. Keep a close eye on it. good luck.
foxfireniner
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06/24/2019 10:30AM  
I have cut that meaty part of my thumb before. It was a much smaller cut but, it bled like crazy. I can imagine you were growing fairly concerned about blood loss or even if you could stop it!

Just added gloves and quikclot to my kit!
06/24/2019 10:32AM  
Ouchy momma!!! As ugly as it looks, it looks like you did a good job with what you had. Good first aid doesn’t always have the nicest or sometimes any first aid kit. I’d suggest you carry good basic stuff and if you bring anything beyond basic be sure you know how and when to use that. Sometimes doing to much in the field causes more to happen like infection.
Driftless
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06/24/2019 11:56AM  
Dang! That looks like it hurt!
06/24/2019 03:06PM  
Ouch!!! How was the fishing?
Zwater
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06/24/2019 05:48PM  
Put some robitussin on it. You will be fine:)
Sorry about the injury.
Hawk777
member (45)member
  
06/24/2019 09:19PM  
No fish. I had just finished fishing right before accident. Which contributes to trip being a bummer. What I did was (like an idiot) foolishly stepped on log with both feet to pull axe out of log and it rolled out from under feet and I fell forward. Hand went right into blade.
Yes, I know medical attention was required right away due to infection. At least within first few hours, but mind you it was late in evening. I had no choice but to wait. Doc said there’s 50% chance of infection. But it looks like it’s draining. With antibiotics.
mgraber
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06/24/2019 10:48PM  
Man, that sucks! Sorry you had to go through that, hope it heals fast.
06/25/2019 06:20AM  
Sorry about this for you as a lot of planning goes into a trip.

My worst nightmare is getting hurt really bad on a solo. One thing I've done since the 2001 trip is wear good leather gloves when sawing or chopping wood. And this spring I bought a kevlar glove designed to protect the hand without the knife when fileting fish. My nephew cut himself pretty bad with a filet knife in 2006 and that always had me worried when I cleaned fish.

06/25/2019 03:37PM  
Best wishes for your wound healing up well. Could have been much worse... be glad you didn't come down on your wrist!

Thanks for having the courage to post this mishap, it's a great reminder of how quickly things can go awry. Particularly when solo, I'm constantly thinking not only about the current action I'm taking but also 2-3 steps ahead and what could go wrong to try and prevent an accident. Even doing that sometimes things happen that are difficult to anticipate.

Take care
06/25/2019 03:37PM  
ooops... double post!
06/30/2019 10:49AM  
That's a serious wound. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I've started bringing superglue on BWCA trips for emergency wound closure. Has anyone had experience trying to close such a large wound with superglue, or would it not work in this case?
07/04/2019 07:12AM  
Yikes! I was actually thinking about bringing a hatchet or axe with us on an upcoming adventure. I have never brought one before; I will stick with what I have always done.

Hope you heal quick.

 
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