So I had a really bad accident Monday working in the backyard when my hand grinder equipted with a cut-off wheel kicked right out of my grip landed onto my left arm. It damn near cut my hand off instantly ...luckily I'm big boned. I'm very lucky the kids had just gotten home from school to help me or I might not even be here anymore. It was like a scene out your favorite horror movie or Call of Duty. I lost alot of blood but my Air Force training kicked in and I knew what to do. The girls helped me call for help, make a torniquet with my belt and helped me dress the wound to stop/slow the bleeding while I waited for a ride to the Hospital. I ended up at Mt Carmel East and after 4 hours of surgery they got me back in one piece. Apparently I cut through my radial artery, several blood vessels and several tendons but Mt Carmel East had a orthpedic and cardiovascular surgeon on staff that day to put me back together. Overall I lost somewhere between 2 to 4 pints of blood but I stayed concious up until they were getting me ready for surgery then the blood loss caught up with me and I passed out. Wouldnt have mattered though because they were about to knock me out anyway for surgery. They kept me overnight, pumping me with IV's, antibiotics and pain meds. So now I'm back home and healing as fast as I can. My wife has been stuck taking care of me and she's done pretty good, she laughs at me alot because I still try when I really shouldnt. Although I thought I was ready to try going back to work right away the doctors said ...umm no you stay home at least a week. Its a good thing I did because I've been so t-i-r-e-d ...Zzz. I've slept about 16 hours a day since getting home and I still feel drained. I'll be back to work Monday and the cast gets removed in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I still have a ton of work in the garage before racing so it may be awhile before I'm racing this year. Unless someone feels enough pity to help me.


So everyone please be extra careful preparing for the upcoming racing season because in moment... you never know if you'll even get to race again.

OMG shawn..I hate to hear this..Dam man..thats not the thing to do..2 weeks from racing to start.
I hope you heal up ok..better not rush anything Just take care of yourself Jamie

Whoa,thats some scary stuff glad you'll be alright hope your hand heals quickly...

Thanks Jamie... At least its my left hand so my transbrake thumb will still work just fine.

Ooo ...I ended up having Mike go through my Dana setup and he got everything straightened out for me. It'll obviously have to sit for awhile though before I can get it back in the car now.

Stinks because I can't even play video games to keep me entertained...

Holy moly, I got queezy just reading this. You were VERY fortunate you had someone there. Glad you are alright, and yes, good advise. Things will bite ya when you least expect it. Best of luck with the healing.
Ken.

i bet the kids will never forget!
i hope you heal well but dont hurry it.

So what was you cutting on anyhow ????

Sure hurts when ya screw up.... I've been there...hope it heals good

Glad to hear you are alright, powertool accidents can be deadly. Take care of yurself and folllow all of your doctors orders. Your too good of a 'mopar' drag racer to lose.

Thank goodness we are chalking this up as accident and not casuality. See ya at Pacemakers sometime this season.

Jeeez Shawn, take good care of your self so someday we can pair up.

Holy smokes

Yes, be careful

Happy to hear you will be ok, If I was closer I would gladly help! get some rest & heal

Dang and I was just whining about cutting the tip off a finger tonight when stripping some wires!

Get well soon!

Hey glad you are ok but do take time if you haven't already and talk to your kids to destress them. Kids look at parents like they are indestructable and when stuff happens they stress. By the way I did something similar in front of my kids and it did bug them so who knows. Take extra vitimin D.

Glad to here it all worked out in the end

Rest up and enjoy the time off with your family. Its hard to find time for the wife and kids sometimes between work and racing.

Wow, Glad you are around to tell the story. My dad almost got killed when his pickup rolled off of the ramps it was on. Luckily, he's thin and had the presence of mind to grab onto the frame rail and go with the truck. He was in the parking lot at work putting a driveshft in on his lunch hour. He was stuck under the truck for 45 minutes with a broken collar bone until someone came close enough to hear him calling. I was 20 when it happened and I cried like a baby when I saw him that day. The thought of losing him was too much. It took me 15 years to use a set of ramps again.

On the good side, since that day, everytime I jack up a car I use a tire chock and jack stands. His experience made me WAY more saftey minded. Your children, although it may have freaked them out, will be safer because of this experience.

Take care and get well soon.

Steve

sorry hear that im glad your going to be ok

Sorry to hear about the accident. It gave me chills reading about it.

Like Gumby, I am paranoid jacking cars. My wife knows to not bother to talk to me until the car is on stands and chocked. She fully approves of this.

A reminder for everyone I originally picked up from the famous Volkswagen Idiot Manual and that is to throw the spare tire under the car when jacking. It at least gives you a chance. I guess a full race car down not have a spare but you get the idea.