Mowing Dangers

Some bozo who previously owned our house thought it would be attractive to put rock flower beds along the front of the house.  There's not much actually growing there, a couple of azaleas, a couple of stunted sad little boxwoods.  The chickens have rooted through them and kicked a lot of rocks out into the grass.  So,when I mow, occasionally the mower blade will catch a rock and throw it out.  I never knew with what force it was throwing those rocks until today.

Meagan moved out here yesterday and while I was mowing this morning, she was getting in her car to go to work.  Just as she was standing at her car door, I went by with the mower and it threw a rock at that very moment.  It hit Meagan's finger, crushed the little bone above the last knuckle, cut completely through her fingernail and into the nail bed. 

I took her to the ER where we spent four hours waiting, having an x-ray, waiting, moving to an exam room, waiting, waiting, waiting, having the doc come in, exam, give a shot of lidocaine, waiting, waiting some more, having the doc pull the nail off, wash the wound, put seven stitches in, waiting, having a nominally trained but very nice not-a-nurse, ex-cop put a splint and bandage on.

Doc said the bone should heal normally and the nail should grow back, but he recommended a follow up with an orthopedist, which will be Thursday.

Oh, and for the record, I wasn't mowing close by, I was mowing about 20-30 feet away from Meagan's car.