Emergency room

We took my sisters (Betty and Pat), both nurses, out fishing while they were visiting last week. One was armed with a video camera; one with a digital camera. Unfortunately, no one was armed with a first aid kit.

We caught a big fish. A really big fish: a 150-lb+ halibut. Robin and I wrestled it up to the surface while Betty and Pat documented the event. Once you get a fish up to the surface, you then have to harpoon it. (Yes, putting a spear-thingy through its body.) That's when the excitement began.

As I was harpooning the halibut, the fish bucked, kicking the blunt end of the harpoon back at me (better than the sharp end!). This resulted in a through-and-through gash from my outside upper lip to the inside of my mouth. Yes, it hurt. A lot. While Betty and Pat were tripping over themselves to get the best paparazzi-inspired shot, I was cursing at them to get me something to mop up the blood running down my face.

(See pictures of the fishing adventure and my injury.)

There was so much blood we didn't have to worry about additional cleaning of the wound. Both nurses and Robin (a first responder), said I needed stitches. We went back to shore and called the home of the local clinic staff person, a nurse practicioner. She met us at the clinic. I got four stitches!