I have heard people say that a wedding ring represents the unbreakable bond between a couple. Well.... I think our love is unbreakable but Eric's ring was breakable but it did put up a tough fight.
So Eric was playing basketball on Wednesday night and jammed maybe dislocated his finger. He said the top of his finger was over top of the bottom part. I think it's crazy that his first instinct was to yank on it and put it back into place but it was. With in seconds his finger was huge!!!! He was not able to get his ring off. He really didn't want to get his ring cut off and thought he could just wait it out. After calling my dad and getting his team trainers to support me, I finally got Eric convinced that his stubbornness could lead to loosing a finger. By the next morning it was turning purple and the lines over his knuckles where smooth.
At the hospital they agreed that the ring needed to get off ASAP. Then they brought out this wimpy ring cutter. It had a tiny blade that and you had to turn it manually. We quickly found out that Titanium is very tough but not invincible. It was a slow night in the ER so we were a popular room. People were coming in and out to take their turn for like 5 minutes. We eventually got so sick of waiting that we teamed up and Eric would press down and I would turn the blade. We also think we could design a much better tool. After a couple of hours the doctor wanted to get his actual (non medical) tools. I was a little hesitant that Eric might end up loosing more than a finger if he was to use a real saw. Finally maintenance came up with some bolt cutters to get though the last of the ring.
I was sad to see my symbol of love cut from my husbands finger but I guess I am happy that my husband still has a finger :). I am kind of excited to find him a new ring and renew our commitment again.
Titanium is not indestructible, but it did take hours to cut though it. I was a little sore the next day.
These next cell phone pictures do not really do Eric's finger justice. It was nasty!!! It was all sorts of crazy colors and it was really big. But he did do an amazing job putting it back into place...
It was amazing how quickly it began to heal when it could actually get some blood flow to it. I am really happy we could save his finger even though we can mourn the loss of his ring.
4 comments:
Ouch!!! Glad to hear everything worked out okay and that you only lost a ring, not a finger!! I still can't believe you popped it back into place yourself Eric! Miss you both :)
OMG!! Poor Eric!
What a story...I am happy that in the end he got to keep the fingers...I'd say it was a better deal than keepin the ring!
Luvs to you both.
Okay- I just discussed your "idea" with the Leni engineering department...ie, Rob.
He said that if you could come up with a better tool...it would be a much needed invention, that no one has figured out yet. Here's why: Titanium is really hard, heats up quickly...and get this...can be flammable when too hot.
So, thank goodness, they didn't use the (non-medical) tools... you could have saved the finger, but it sounds like it might have ended up a little bit crispy if they got the ring too hot. Yikes.
Anywhoo, this is why they use the lame manual tools. :)
Billie & Eric I am happy he/you didn't lose his finger either! A wedding ring can be replaced, fingers can't. A friend of mine swears he won't wear a wedding ring because he nearly lost a finger from a ring years ago.
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