"Hooked" on the hook in Charleston
30 April 2013 | Charleston, SC
A medical emergency.....
Not surprisingly, we enjoyed our 5 days in Charleston, a city richly steeped in 18th and 19th century American history. Well, enjoyed it except for a rather scary medical emergency. Question: If a stitch in time saves nine, then what will 70 stitches do? Answer: sew Tom's ear back together.
Yes, it's true. Shortly after arrival in Charleston and anchoring on the fast flowing Ashley River, we discovered that our anchor was either dragging or our use of 100' of chain and too much line was shifting Sylestial Star dangerously close to our neighboring boats. As we prepared to re-anchor, Tom's ear caught on a dangling hook used to support an upraised dodger window. The hook sliced Tom's ear in half horizontally from the ear canal outwards. What followed was a 911 call, arrival of paramedics on a fireboat, an ambulance ride to the
trauma center of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and some of the best medical care known to man. Specialists took 1 hour and 70 stitches to reattach the 2 pieces. In the meantime, Gary and Bill, from Gatsby and Sea Mist, re-anchored Sylestial Star by shortening our scope. Many thanks to both of them.
Without any ability to return to Sylestial Star at 10:30pm, Sylvia and Tom spent the night in a hotel after leaving the hospital. Transportation to the hotel was provided by the hospital. The next day, Sylestial Star was moved to the Charleston Megadock where she remained for the rest of our visit to Charleston.
And so, nurse Sylvia found herself cleaning Tom's wound twice a day and will soon remove the stitches that do not dissolve. She has been a rock from beginning to end, calmly attending to her patient's needs.
The doctors were pleased with Tom's progress at the follow-up appointment 4 days later and it looks like the ear will heal to normal, assuming we continue to follow the doctor's instructions, which, of course, we intend to do.
By the way, the offending hook has been removed.....and we enjoyed Charleston despite our emergency.
Big time Kudos and thanks to all the medical personnel involved and particularly to the specialists at MUSC Trauma Center. They were terrific.