Is There a Doctor in the House?

There are lots of lessons to be learned during any home improvement project. But some just don’t get learned well enough. One is keep your thumb out of the way when you are waving a hammer in the other hand.
Mr. Remodel got his left thumb in the way of hammer in right hand and whacked it good. Nail turned black. Luckily Mr. Doctor Relation lives nearby so Mr. R drove over there to get needle poked in nail to relieve pressure and save nail.

Another good rule of thumb (excuse pun) is not to hit said thumb again with hammer. Nope, didn’t learn that one either. No surprises to learn it hurt more the second time around (and third time too). It also hurt when a handsaw slipped and cut into the top of the same thumb.

Next lesson. Don’t try to move position of stepladder while still on it. Apparently learning that lesson was re-scheduled for another day. Mr. R. thought if he just held onto the beams above him, he could move ladder with feet. To be fair, it might just have worked. However, the floor below was littered with tools and extension cords and Mr. R did not check that aforementioned ladder was actually sitting on level ground before putting all his weight back on it. Consequence? Falling from off the top of the ladder in a confined space (with lots of potential for hitting of head on way down) onto a concrete floor littered with tools (including sharp ones).
Mrs. R can write about it in a somewhat jocular tone now (even though she walked into the room just in time to see him demonstrate gravity) because she did not have to call an ambulance or a funeral director but it was actually a very, very stupid thing to do (move the ladder while on it, not write about it in a jocular tone). In many ways, this story belongs in the last posting since Mrs. Remodel considers it a miracle that Mr. Remodel was able to get up nursing nothing more than a sore elbow. Although he almost had a sore head to deal with after Mrs. R heard how he had come to fall off the ladder.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures of the above event but we were not in the mood to recreate the scene for the camera.

Other injuries involve Mrs. R stabbing her fingers with tacks when pulling out carpet and sore fingers from having them in the wrong place at the wrong time. We both got hurt when the top of a cabinet we were putting together, (which we had not screwed in properly) flew on top of us. First it hit the lower portion of Mrs. R’s finger before hitting Mr. R on the shoulder. Again, it could have done more damage, as it was a very heavy piece of particle board. Even so, Mrs. R. finger is still sore at times, red and has a lump.

Thankfully, so far, we aren’t in hospital, or missing any bits but the biggest lesson is that DIY can be dangerous. Take all those tools, a moment’s lack of concentration, and a misunderstanding of human vulnerability and you have a potential recipe for disaster. No patio, room addition, or remodel is worth death, serious injury or dismemberment.

Fellow Do-It-Yourselfers - stay safe out there.