When Fishing Goes Wrong

Sunday afternoon I went to my friend Matt's house. He has a rental home on a lake, which is choice. I took my (inflatable) boat over to do some fishing. we toiled around the lake for a while, got a few bites, I caught one, which was so small I should've used it for bait, and then headed in. We headed in and pulled up to shore. The fishing poles were attached to the outside of the boat, running bow to stern. When we got to the shore, Matt reached over to pull us in, and when he put all of his weight down, did so right on a lure. I have had a lure stuck in me, but it has always ran parallel to the skin and has been easy to remove. The hook went directly into his hand, all the way to the point it curved back (per the pic).

Matt went to the garage to pull it out, and after about 1 tug, realized it was a job best left to the professionals. So, I drove him into the hospital. Surprisingly, they were packed on a Sunday night. We both smelled of lake, so we asked how long it would be. They informed us we had well over a 30 minute wait ahead of us. So, we signed in and went back to my place, where I showered and returned to town. On the way back into town, we decided we had better get something to eat before going back, so we drove through the Burger King drive-thru. Keep in mind, he still has a chunk of metal embedded and hanging off his hand.

So we get a bite, head back to the hospital and he gets seen. While in the first room, I got a chance to take a peak at the list of others being treated or waiting to be treated. "20 year old female, altered mental state." I wonder what she was on.

Anyway, they gave him a local anesthetic and were able to remove it after a small incision and much wrenching around. Neither of us could watch. No stitches, just a bandage and some hospital-grade antibiotic ointment.