What was the last AVOIDABLE injury you suffered?

Question

Were you in a hurry and gave yourself a careless and unnecessary bruise, cut, bump or worse? What was it, and how did you do it?

My 76-year-old mom was pulling garden stakes out of the ground with a claw hammer (instead of asking my brother or my husband to do it). She pulled too hard and the back end of the hammer clunked her in the forehead -- she was lucky she didn't lose an eye.

Me, I was in a hurry and I reached across the ironing board for a hanger. Forgot that (a) I was in short sleeves; and (b) that the iron was still on. I got a nice ugly burn on my right forearm.

Answer 1

The most memorable was in high school, the 2nd bell and rang and my friend and I were afraid of being tardy AGAIN. So, instead of getting into our other friends car like normal people, we got onto the hood of his car, my friend closest to the windshield, gripping the antenna and myself holding onto her....Well car pulled out in front of him and I flew off the car, my friend manage to stay on. I landed face first on the pavement, with the air knocked out of me and the front wheel still on top of me, all of my friends thought I was dead. The driver finally backed his car off my body. After what seamed like forever, I could get enough air to tell them I was alright...They helped me up and I started laughing and everyone just looked at me like I was crazy...But it was just shock, lol. I ended up breaking all my ribs, with the exception of 3 and puncturing my lung....My children will never ride on the hood of a car.

Answer 2

The last avoidable injury I suffered was on April 1st of this year.  We were getting 2 recliner chairs delivered that morning and needed to get our 2 seater sofa out into the shed because we hadn't managed to sell it.

Both me and my hubby are disabled with arthritic conditions so of course instead of asking our neighbours to shift it for us we struggled ourselves.  We managed to get the sofa outside but had to then negotiate the low walled area in front of the shed doors and that is where my accident occurred.....the end of the sofa caught the low wall with a thump, knocked the top 3 bricks plus coving clean off which landed on the top of my left foot.  I was stunned completely for a few seconds until the pain set in and then I screamed louder than I had ever screamed before. My poor hubby didn't know what to do.  He moved the brickwork off of my foot which we thought was broken and he dialled 999.  Luckily for me my foot wasnt broken but it was very very painful for a long time and it is STILL bruised now.  I was very very lucky to have no broken bones.

That was a very avoidable injury.

Answer 3

I grabbed a steel post being driven by a sledge hammer thinking the guy with the sledge hammer had stopped swinging. My thumb was crushed and had to be partially amputated. No I do not hold anything while you hit it! LOL

Answer 4

In July was visiting son across the country while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night rapped my hand on a door jamb and broke a couple of fingers. First week of August while pumping gas stepped off of curbing while wearing flip flops that slipped and broke ankle. Still wearing velcro casts on both.

Husband says people over 50 should always turn a light on when up in the night at unfamiliar homes and NEVER wear flip flops out while doing errands.

Answer 5

It was in 1970.  I was stationed at the Yokohama Navy Commissary, in Japan.  The days of micro-minis and nude toe-to-waist pantyhose.

The kids from the high school would cut behind the commissary to get to the cafeteria for lunch.  One windy day, my partner and I were offloading cases of juice from a stake body truck.  I was walking to the back and handing them down to Moon.  There was one very lovely senior who often stopped to talk to us as we worked.  This day the wind was blowing and her skirt was flapping.  Moon said, "Andy, look at Michelle!"  At that moment I was almost to the back of the truck with 2 cases of pineapple juice in my hands and stepped right off the back to the ground.  Yes, I did see 'a little something.'  I wound up in a cast for over 6 weeks with a torn ligament.  My wife said I deserved it for being such a letch.

Answer 6

I recently had a bone marrow biopsy, and fell causing severe bruising and bleeding  

Answer 7

A few years ago, my car was overheating, I was impatient, I opened the radiator without giving it enough time to cool, got a nasty burn on my arm.

Answer 8

That had to be about 10-14 days ago when I was getting friendly with a stray cat who kept coming back for more "hand".  I should have not assumed it was OK to scratch her belly without getting to know her likes & dislikes.  All I can say is that I still have a partial scab on my arm where whe nailed me GOOD with her claws & her teeth!  I immediately doused it in hydrogen peroxide, then antibiotic cream & a wrap.  No infection yet, that I can tell.  I have to get that cat to the pound...she's a stray & the SPCA is full.  They won't even take her with a donation of cash!  So much for their caring nature.  

Answer 9

A few days ago I got the nastiest paper cut from opening an envelope too fast. It was one of those thick manila envelopes too! I realize it probably doesn't fall under the category of injury, but it hurt bad!

Answer 10

I fell in the creek behind our house. Instead of crossing over the bridge I took a short cut across an old wooden bridge that was uneven tripped and fell in. The creek was high and full of jagged rocks. I had a lot of cuts and bruises but I was lucky I was not hurt too bad.  Poppy

Answer 11

Two days ago, I reached for the rotary cutter to trim some fabric on a quilt that I am making, and accidentally ran my thumb across the non-retracting blade. Big 'ouch'. It's a good cutter, but prefer the retracting kind.  

Answer 12

I climbed a ladder to get a cat down off a tall shed roof.  The ladder slipped and I fell and broke my leg.  Like the young lady with a developmental disability pointed out to me later, "Don't you know that cats can climb?"

Avoidable.

Answer 13

Two days ago I tripped over a shoe and fell over putting a dent in my bedroom wall and breaking my lampstand in two pieces...but I'm okay now!

Answer 14

Does it have to be a physical injury? I could have avoided falling in love with someone who doesn't love me back...that feels like an injury in itself.

Answer 15

Well, I guess it would be when I hit my toe on the edge of our dresser in the middle of the night.  We have a night light that burnt out and I'm sure it would not have happened if I replace it.  I had to wear a slipper for almost 2 weeks before the swelling went down.  Ouch!

Answer 16

all injuries are avoidable -- in my case i backed off in a ditch while cutting fire wood and broke my wrist!!!

Answer 17

I walked through the woods in shorts and got some nasty scratches on my legs, one of which got infected in spite of first aid.  Should have worn long pants.

Answer 18

Twenty-five years ago, I fell off a milk can and broke my ankle...don't ask why I was there...

Answer 19

My beagle puppy sunk her GD fangs into my arm. Should have seen that coming, mean little ......doggie.

Answer 20

Last month my daughters dog got sick while I was watching him. We took him to the vet to have him checked out. The vet was doing some X-rays on him when he turned and bit the far out of my right hand. I had to go to the ER for them to treat my hand and got stitches in it as well. Still having a hard time with it yet. I had to have my class ring cut off. I also have the scars on my hand and will always have them as well.

Could it have been avoidable? Yes it could have very easily. A) I could have stayed in the waiting room, although I was the one that carried him in. B) The vet could have put a muzzle on him when I first brought him in. The vet never did put a muzzle on him the whole time that we were there.

Sad to say, the dog did have to be put down, but not because he bit me. It was because his spine was fusing together and it was making him become paralyzed to the point that he could no longer walk.