I had a disastrous accident
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:31 am
I should have been prepared, or at least forewarned.
A couple of weeks ago I was frying a cheeseburger on my grill when I struck the handle by accident. The pan slid to my right, and fell off the stove, just barely missing me. At the time I was thinking it could have been a disastrous accident if it had fallen to my left, possibly scalding me on my legs or worse, scalding me on the genitals. I don't know why I didn't take it as a warming and take precautions.
I mean, a few weeks ago I was in my power wheelchair when I was having a diarrhea incident and I leaned too far forward while I and the chair were slippery and I fell out, the first time in six years. After that, I set strict policies on myself, never try to reach a distant object unless belted in, do no reaching for anything quickly, especially down, and be very careful when moving the chair if I've had a diarrhea incident where I, the chair seat, or both, are slippery due to excrement. When moving to the shower area to mop up and rinse the mess, take precautions. Put the belt back on, move the chair 2- ft. to the shower, unbelt in order to bathe and wash the chair surface.
Saturday I was making Polish sausage using the "double cook" method. Cut a Polish sausage in half, put half back in the refrigerator, split the remaining half lengthwise and boil both pieces for about six minutes, potentially poking holed in the them. This leaches a lot of the grease out and improves the taste. Then drain the pan and fry the two pieces.
Well, while trying to drain the pan I must have bumped it, knocking it over only this time it strikes the chair, dumping scalding water on my back and near my butt. I wasn't wearing much because of the heat so It caused a major problem.
I immediately rolled for my bathroom, screaming for help as I did. I got to the bathroom, grabbed my hand-held shower head, popped the seat belt, turned the cold water on and started spraying the burn area. Unfortunately I think some water got into the control stick and shorted it out. 9-1-1 took me to the hospital where they gave me ice packs to help with the pain until the doctor could check it, then an injection of morphine with an anti-nausea drug. It worked, the pain went way down and eventually subsided. And a nurse put cream on my back.
So now I'm figuring how to get home, which is hard when you're wheelchair bound. I'm also thinking I'm going to be in trouble with my power chair burned out. And the hospital is having trouble finding a way to get me transportation. Finally they decide to loan me a wheelchair and they can send me home in an accessible cab.
Hoverround isn't open until Monday so I can't call them until then. I instituted new policies: only use the grill on the back burner, use tongs to remove food, allow the pan to cool before draining it.
I call Hoverround this morning, and after a while on hold, an agent answered. Since this is considered "customer abuse" or maybe "customer damage," Medicare will not cover it, I have to pay the full cost out of pocket. There's a 30% discount on the part, so with about $160 in labor to send out a technician, the total cost with tax is...
$987.61
Fortunately I do have enough credit but that really hurts. That was one expensive sausage, and I never even got to eat it.
A couple of weeks ago I was frying a cheeseburger on my grill when I struck the handle by accident. The pan slid to my right, and fell off the stove, just barely missing me. At the time I was thinking it could have been a disastrous accident if it had fallen to my left, possibly scalding me on my legs or worse, scalding me on the genitals. I don't know why I didn't take it as a warming and take precautions.
I mean, a few weeks ago I was in my power wheelchair when I was having a diarrhea incident and I leaned too far forward while I and the chair were slippery and I fell out, the first time in six years. After that, I set strict policies on myself, never try to reach a distant object unless belted in, do no reaching for anything quickly, especially down, and be very careful when moving the chair if I've had a diarrhea incident where I, the chair seat, or both, are slippery due to excrement. When moving to the shower area to mop up and rinse the mess, take precautions. Put the belt back on, move the chair 2- ft. to the shower, unbelt in order to bathe and wash the chair surface.
Saturday I was making Polish sausage using the "double cook" method. Cut a Polish sausage in half, put half back in the refrigerator, split the remaining half lengthwise and boil both pieces for about six minutes, potentially poking holed in the them. This leaches a lot of the grease out and improves the taste. Then drain the pan and fry the two pieces.
Well, while trying to drain the pan I must have bumped it, knocking it over only this time it strikes the chair, dumping scalding water on my back and near my butt. I wasn't wearing much because of the heat so It caused a major problem.
I immediately rolled for my bathroom, screaming for help as I did. I got to the bathroom, grabbed my hand-held shower head, popped the seat belt, turned the cold water on and started spraying the burn area. Unfortunately I think some water got into the control stick and shorted it out. 9-1-1 took me to the hospital where they gave me ice packs to help with the pain until the doctor could check it, then an injection of morphine with an anti-nausea drug. It worked, the pain went way down and eventually subsided. And a nurse put cream on my back.
So now I'm figuring how to get home, which is hard when you're wheelchair bound. I'm also thinking I'm going to be in trouble with my power chair burned out. And the hospital is having trouble finding a way to get me transportation. Finally they decide to loan me a wheelchair and they can send me home in an accessible cab.
Hoverround isn't open until Monday so I can't call them until then. I instituted new policies: only use the grill on the back burner, use tongs to remove food, allow the pan to cool before draining it.
I call Hoverround this morning, and after a while on hold, an agent answered. Since this is considered "customer abuse" or maybe "customer damage," Medicare will not cover it, I have to pay the full cost out of pocket. There's a 30% discount on the part, so with about $160 in labor to send out a technician, the total cost with tax is...
$987.61
Fortunately I do have enough credit but that really hurts. That was one expensive sausage, and I never even got to eat it.
