Over the Labor Day weekend I suffered a boating accident. The wife and I went to New Buffalo, Michigan for the first time. We met up with my buddy and his girlfriend to enjoy a weekend of boating. My friend Chris Condotti owns a racing boat, a Fountain, so we raced our way from New Buffalo to South Haven for a little lunch. Once we arrived, we tried to dock the boat and that's where things went wrong.
I was on the front of the boat, grabbed a hold of the wide wooden pile-on and was getting ready to wrap the rope. Unfortunately, thanks to the wind, the front of the boat drifted away from the dock and I wouldn't let go of the pile on. I couldn't get a good grip and slowly slid down with the "wooden" pile-on cutting into my hand and fingers. Finally, I could stand the pain no more, let go, and fell into the harbor. I swam to the boat and once I got my hand on board, I realized the severity of my injury...blood everywhere!!! I wouldn't go to the hospital and instead, begged my wife to dress my cuts.
The rest of the day was one of the most painful of my life. It felt like I had placed my hand on a hot plate for the next 5 hours. I still wouldn't go to a hospital to have it stitched because I'm a stubborn Greek! Once I returned back to Chicago, I realized I better have it looked at, so I went to a Dr. on Labor Day. He plucked a half a dozen splinters out of my hand and recommended I go for a tetanus shot, but again I refused. In a meeting the next day, another Dr. told me that in 4 weeks, I could suffer lock jaw after falling in a dirty harbor with an open wound. It was enough to get me to the clinic 2 hours later. I finally got my tetanus shot and 9 days later, the wounds are starting to scab and heal.
Lessons learned: 1. forget about the boat! 2. don't be so stubborn! 3. I can't wait to go back to New Buffalo, I like that place!!!
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