As somebody said, significant hemorrhage takes the fun out of things

Smaller amounts, not as bad. At least when it's not my blood. And for a change it was not I losing blood.

Went out to visit some friends don’t get the chance to see very often and, while there, helped plant some trees. They bought this house about two years ago and he’s been very big on planting both trees and roses. Some have done fairly well, some not so much; the weather this past winter didn’t help matters. So, went to Lowe’s to help him pick up some potting soil and they had their remaining trees on sale, so…

Six trees and nearly twenty berry bushes later(also on sale), back at the house, there was one tree that’d been loosened up in the pot badly enough thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it in the ground. So dug the hole. Which took more than you might think; about two or three inches below the surface there’s a thick layer of clay, actually had to break it up with a pick and then scoop it out to get the hole deep enough. Finally got that done, put some organic matter in the hole and soak it, put in the tree and fill the hole up, then soak it well. Now comes the post, to hold the tree upright in this wind while it settles in and roots. So he got a t-post and the driver and began hammering.

If you’ve never worked with one of these, the driver is basically a section of pipe with a heavy cap welded on one end and a handle on each side. Slip it over the top of the post, drive it down, lift and repeat; lots easier than using a hammer for these.

Well, the ground was hard enough that he was having to really slam it down to get the post in, and had only gotten it in three or four inches when- in one of those “Damn, how’d THAT happen?” accidents- he lifted the driver just a bit too high, which naturally means the thing moved a touch toward him, the bottom edge rose clear of the post and as he drove it down the far side hit and the driver pivoted over and slammed into his head.

I was figuring the best way to tie the tree when he said a word(I promise, it was not “Shuckins”) and hit the ground. It took a minute to figure out exactly what’d happened, since I hadn’t seen it and he was concentrating on pain. Then he took off his hat and we discovered the bleeding, so I told him to stay down with his daughter for company(“Daddy’s ok, he just needs to rest.” “Daddy booboo?” Etc.)

Get inside, “Do you have a first-aid kit?” His wife was on the phone- that was a call that ended quick- and she grabbed a towel and out we went. Apparently the “There’s a bit of hemorrhage, but not much” didn’t really help. “Hemorrhage?!?” “Just a little bit, he banged his head.” She didn’t exactly leave a vacuum behind, but there was a bit of a swirl.

Let me note, the wife is a nurse specializing in pregnant women and newborns; a damn good one. But she says herself that she doesn’t deal well with family and other problems, like head injuries. So after getting him in and cleaned up a bit, she was worried enough to demand a trip to the ER. So an entourage of the wounded, the wife, the daughter(not quite three) and me loaded up. Happily the daughter doesn’t get freaked out, so my job in the event was to
First, park the car after dropping dizzy husband and wife at the door,
Second, bring child in,
Third, keep her out of the way and as happy with things as possible. Which I hadn’t done in quite a while, but I remembered how and she did quite well.

So it was determined that while he may have damaged one of his five remaining brain cells, there didn’t seem to be any serious damage. So while wife was being informed as to what specifics to watch for over the next couple of days, I took kid to car and brought it to the door, and all went back to the house. Shortly thereafter I had to go home and get some sleep before work(this is being written at o-dark-thirty in the morning), and as of last word the injured is doing fine. Though his head is going to be sore for a while.

By the time I got home I was able to get about two hours sleep before having to be at work at the proverbial oh-dark-thirty. But I do get to sleep tonight.

And how was your day off?