Nawilla goes to the ER (or Oh Joy! Another Workman's Comp claim!)
I had to go to the ER today. Fortunately the ER is in an adjoining building to the one I work in.
Why did I have to go to the ER today? Because . . . . I was bitten by a very pissed off mouse.
Yes, my ER discharge papers list my complaint as 'mouse bite.'
In fairness, I was trying to anesthetize the mouse so I could remove organs (for SCIENCE) so it might be only fair that it had a fighting chance to attack me first. The little bastard got in a lucky shot when I was trying to get it into the anesthetizing bottle (so it could go to sleep and never wake up), and it managed to bite me through the nitrile glove and draw blood. Since it got me on the tip of my finger, it bled like crazy.
I was impressed with me that I managed to a) not kill the mouse by jerking the 'bitey end' and the 'tail end' hard in opposite directions and b) not lose the mouse by letting go of the tail. I put it back in the bucket (while cursing loudly) and then wandered out into the hall and found someone to wrap my finger, because while I could put the mouse away and wash my wound, I couldn't actually wrap my own finger. Then, while I clotted, I went back and knocked out the little bastard and took his kidneys, liver, spleen and male reproductive tract (for SCIENCE. Really, I swear, we took his testicles for SCIENCE. And he was already dead then).
Then I had to call Workman's comp (to report the injury), Boss Lady at home (to report the injury) and figure out where to go (the ER). If I had just cut myself, I probably would have bandaged it and been done. But I was bitten by an ANIMAL, and it was a LAB ANIMAL. I could sue the University if it got infected and I lost a finger. So if this happened between 7:30 and 4 pm, I would have gone to the Employee clinic, but since this happened at 5:30 (after clinic hours), I actually had to go to the ER to get my finger checked.
By the time I got there (had to kill the bastard mouse first) and then went through the metal detector (they have almost the same procedure to get into the ER as they have at the TSA but no one was frisked), the cuts had clotted and could now be seen as embarrassingly small. (Mouse teeth are small, but deadly). There were in fact two little cuts that bled a lot at first, and I was asked if the mouse was free of pathogens. I said it wasn't a 'specific pathogen free' mouse (ie. it's not immune compromised, it was kind of a normal mouse, but I didn't just pick it up off the street), but it was still a mouse. The doctor directed the nurse to put Neosporin on it and put on a Band-Aid. Yup, that was it. I could have done this myself, but there are RULES when a lab animal bites you, that you HAVE TO FOLLOW. So I did. And felt stupid. And then went back to work until almost ten because a nasty bite and an hour going to the ER makes you stay late.
I was told to watch for signs of infection and given directions for what to do if you are bitten by a potentially rabid animal. Fortunately it was only a mouse and not a non-human primate, because monkey bites are a whole different circle of hell and can actually kill you. (Monkeys can asymptomatically carry a strain of herpes which is DEADLY to humans. Oh the things you get to learn about in animal handling training).
So how was your Monday?
Why did I have to go to the ER today? Because . . . . I was bitten by a very pissed off mouse.
Yes, my ER discharge papers list my complaint as 'mouse bite.'
In fairness, I was trying to anesthetize the mouse so I could remove organs (for SCIENCE) so it might be only fair that it had a fighting chance to attack me first. The little bastard got in a lucky shot when I was trying to get it into the anesthetizing bottle (so it could go to sleep and never wake up), and it managed to bite me through the nitrile glove and draw blood. Since it got me on the tip of my finger, it bled like crazy.
I was impressed with me that I managed to a) not kill the mouse by jerking the 'bitey end' and the 'tail end' hard in opposite directions and b) not lose the mouse by letting go of the tail. I put it back in the bucket (while cursing loudly) and then wandered out into the hall and found someone to wrap my finger, because while I could put the mouse away and wash my wound, I couldn't actually wrap my own finger. Then, while I clotted, I went back and knocked out the little bastard and took his kidneys, liver, spleen and male reproductive tract (for SCIENCE. Really, I swear, we took his testicles for SCIENCE. And he was already dead then).
Then I had to call Workman's comp (to report the injury), Boss Lady at home (to report the injury) and figure out where to go (the ER). If I had just cut myself, I probably would have bandaged it and been done. But I was bitten by an ANIMAL, and it was a LAB ANIMAL. I could sue the University if it got infected and I lost a finger. So if this happened between 7:30 and 4 pm, I would have gone to the Employee clinic, but since this happened at 5:30 (after clinic hours), I actually had to go to the ER to get my finger checked.
By the time I got there (had to kill the bastard mouse first) and then went through the metal detector (they have almost the same procedure to get into the ER as they have at the TSA but no one was frisked), the cuts had clotted and could now be seen as embarrassingly small. (Mouse teeth are small, but deadly). There were in fact two little cuts that bled a lot at first, and I was asked if the mouse was free of pathogens. I said it wasn't a 'specific pathogen free' mouse (ie. it's not immune compromised, it was kind of a normal mouse, but I didn't just pick it up off the street), but it was still a mouse. The doctor directed the nurse to put Neosporin on it and put on a Band-Aid. Yup, that was it. I could have done this myself, but there are RULES when a lab animal bites you, that you HAVE TO FOLLOW. So I did. And felt stupid. And then went back to work until almost ten because a nasty bite and an hour going to the ER makes you stay late.
I was told to watch for signs of infection and given directions for what to do if you are bitten by a potentially rabid animal. Fortunately it was only a mouse and not a non-human primate, because monkey bites are a whole different circle of hell and can actually kill you. (Monkeys can asymptomatically carry a strain of herpes which is DEADLY to humans. Oh the things you get to learn about in animal handling training).
So how was your Monday?