Quick! Call The Doc!

WARNING!
If you are of weak constitution, the following pictures may be rated beyond the level of your viewing. Consider yourself duly notified.

On Friday afternoon, Rob, in his bare feet of course, went running across our finished basement to the school room on the far side. When he reached the doorway of the school room where the large garbage can sits, he collapsed, shrieking in obvious pain. Daryl was trying to think on his feet. What should he do? Who should he call? Dad, of course! Well, Dr. Dad properly diagnosed the ailment as "Foot Impaled With Something That Broke Off And I Can't Get It Out" and off to the ER we went! Rob was unable to even hobble on the heal of his foot as the pain was unbearable.

Rob is waiting for the ER doctor to see what we should do. He was not amused that mom just happened to have the camera in her purse and he predicted that he was going to end up on the blog. Mothers!!

His foot looks like he tried using it for a pin cushion.

Well, this has certainly turned into an unforgettable adventure!! After x-ray, the ER doc said that this was no ordinary splinter. This was a piece of wood. And I can certainly vouch for Robert in that he was being quite scriptural. He was not pointing out or complaining about the sliver in his brother's eye when he had a beam of his own with which to be concerned. It's amazing the illustrations a person can find in every day life to remind us of how we ought to live! Nevertheless, after working on Robert for quite a while, the ER doctor decided that it was imperative to call a surgeon. The surgeon worked and worked and could not remove the wood. When the numbing med was injected it caught the piece of wood and suctioned it farther into the meat of Rob's foot. The surgeon was about ready to take him into surgery when he caught hold of the end. The Dr. worked a little while longer and was finally able to extract the offending article. Rob endured quite a bit of pain in spite of the numbing med and just about passed out, but he took it like a man! Even the part where the surgeon went down to the bone and scraped it!

The nurse laid her finger next to the wood to give perspective to the size of the piece. The surgeon examined the wood piece and guessed that it appeared to be a heavy toothpick. Not a cheapie! In reality, that guess is a definite possibility as our basement is used for church fellowships and Rob "picked up" the piece right beside the garbage can. The surgeon was concerned that both ends of the wood are frayed and he is hoping that he was able to remove all of what was in Rob's foot. Rob is being watched closely as he had started running a low grade temp and his foot was swollen twice its normal size 2 nights after the accident. We had to consult Aunt Erm (an RN) and Uncle David (a Physician's Assistant for an Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Surgeon, no less!!) over the weekend for advise and the advise given was right on so says Dr. Woods. Rob thought that it was amusing that Dr. Woods removed the wood from his foot. Silly boy! Rob's foot was stitched closed and he has already been back to visit the surgeon at the office with another appointment scheduled.
All I can say is that I hope whoever used that toothpick before it missed the garbage can and found Rob's foot, was up to date on their rabies shot!!
I want to be sure to include Mark's take on the situation. He is of the belief that the piece of wood that was embedded in Rob's foot was actually a piece of popsicle stick. The boys use them to build things and yes, they cut them in pieces to size. Who knows?