Thursday, April 5, 2012

Machete-fights

When I was a kid, my older brother and I were part of a gang of kids. We'd run around the woods behind the playground and ride our bikes and play baseball. Sometimes, we'd have "Free-for-All's" where we would all beat each other up. From my 7-year old memory, it was pairs of kids wrestling on the ground, throwing punches and elbows and body slams. I loved it, probably because I was the only girl so nobody hit me hard but I could hit them as hard I wanted.

We were just packing up clinic for the day when we saw a teenage boy with a bloody shirt wrapped around his hand and a throng of people marching behind him. Apparently there had been an argument, a fight and eventually, a machete. This kid, who said he was 17 but who looked 12, was the loser. His hand was split deeply open from the middle of his palm through his wrist, about 4 inches long. In between two fingers was another slice, about an inch long. I used 12mL of lidocaine to numb it up (that's 4 times the amount I usually have to use) and I put in a total of 22 stitches, the most I've ever put into one injury.



When we were done, I suggested that he stick to fistfights next time.

3 comments:

Macro Guy said...

I think we called those fights "Royal Rumbles". Ah, the good old days. I don't think that could happen on Andrews Playground anymore.

- big brother

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure how I originally came across your blog, but I have loved reading your entries. I am always encouraged and excited to see how God is using people to love individuals in Haiti. I have been there three times in the past three years and can't wait until the next time I can go back. I am also in love with the children of Haiti.
Thanks for sharing your story. I say a pray for you and your team every time I come across your blog. God Bless!

Constantine La said...

Eeeww. It looks like the best machete did a real job on you.

Hope your hand healed up!