Lucy Walker: Hospital stay reminds me of need to not rush
© Lucy Walker I won myself a free, three-night, all-inclusive holiday in hospital last spring after a small mishap with a Heptevac P needle.
While I’ll continue to argue it was entirely the sheep’s fault, common sense may suggest otherwise.
When parting the wool on the ewe’s shoulder, a combination of my distractedness and the sheep’s wriggling caused me to stick the needle in my finger.
See also: Lucy Walker – frustration at fields filled with ramblers
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With no vaccine injected in me, I assumed the bleeding meant any tiny traces that could have entered my system would have come out.
I stupidly carried on and injected the rest of the flock – only to wake up the next day with my middle finger bright-red, swollen and throbbing.
Despite hearing “teenage girl and needles”, doctors believed me that it really wasn’t an intentional move, and I had a general anaesthetic while all infection was cleaned out.
I spent the next three days bored in hospital as a precautionary measure in case infection returned. Thanks to the swiftness of the NHS, it didn’t.
After the incident, it became clear that just about everyone knew someone’s cousin’s neighbour’s uncle who’d done the same thing.
It ranged in severity from people who’d had to have limbs amputated to those unable to move a digit for a month. It’s all too common and we ought to take extra care.
This year, after a strict safety briefing, I was trusted with a foolproof injection gun, with the needle concealed and sterilised between doses.
This way, not only are you keeping any daft workers safer, it reduces the transmission of disease between animals.
All experiences are learning opportunities, and this one taught me three things.
First, don’t rush. While I saved five seconds by not restraining the sheep further, I wasted everyone else’s time.
Second, don’t injure yourself on a bank holiday when junior doctors are on strike.
Finally, and most importantly, the sooner you go for help, the sooner your problems are solved – so, as with everything in life, use all the help you can get, it’s there for a reason.