It started out as a discussion and, honestly, it got a little heated. I like to store a bag in the back of the car that I know has a certain number of items that I know we will always use. This includes a blanket, an ice scraper, window cleaner, some discs to play disc golf, a flashlight and a first aid kit. My wife’s vehicle, like many cars, has a built-in first aid kit, but it is of little value in all reality. Adding these things to the car was no stress to me, and our discussion was on the value of being prepared. My wife had never needed a first aid kit or preparation bag in the vehicle, and did not think it was an essential item to add to the vehicle. I added the My Medic MYFAK MINI PRO to the vehicle anyway after putting my foot down in a very polite way. I do love my wife, and I told her I wanted us safe just in case something happened.
It only took about 45 days or so for the other shoe to drop. Actually, it was an AX and it dropped right into my shin bone just below my knee. We had bought a couple of aspen trees to plant in the backyard and after planting them, I needed to stake them in because we get some pretty high winds here in Nebraska. I looked around for something to pound the stake in with, grabbed a brick and quickly broke it pounding in the stake. That wasn’t going to work, so I walked up to the office where I have 3 axes and hatchets to review. I grabbed a lightweight felling ax from Hults Bruk, pulled off the sheath, walked down and started to pound in the stake with the back of the ax.
The Ax-i-Dent
This was my “Well Damn” moment and I am really not sure what happened exactly, but I do know the ax blade made contact with my shin bone cutting into my leg with about a solid 3 inch straight cut all the way to the bone. The Hults Bruk is like a razor; it had never been used, so it cut deep and true.
I looked down and yelled out, “Oh NO, Oh NO! Marjorie, I need a first aid kit FAST!” The great news was she knew exactly where it was: in the car. She was back in under 60 seconds. She helped me to lay down in the grass, we opened the kit and laid it out in front of us. We grabbed the Zzips first as I was holding the wound closed. She opened the package and gave them to me one at a time. We got those on quickly and sutured up the wound, keeping it closed extremely well. I then grabbed the quikclot bleeding control bandage and wrapped over the Zzips and the wound itself nice and tight. The next thing I grabbed was the Emergency Pressure Bandage and put that on wrapping; it nice and tight as well. There was no blood escaping, so I got up and walked to the car for the trip to the emergency room. I was lucky: I missed any arteries and didn’t have to put on a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but I could have if needed.
The emergency room personnel were impressed with what we had done. Truthfully, I was in and out of the emergency room in under 90 minutes with 12 new staples. We even went to dinner because I was starving. Was I lucky? 100%. Was I prepared for that moment? 100%. In discussions with my beautiful wife, we both agree now to have first aid kits in our home and our vehicles at all times. I have had a kit in my hunting pack over the last several decades. But on a perfect afternoon, did I do something stupid by using an AX to pound in a stake? Absolutely. Did I think I was going to get hurt? Not even for a second. And yet it was a very fast instant from being a perfect afternoon to one that could have ended rather ugly. I GOT LUCKY, I was not all that far from an artery, in fact less than an inch from the Tibial Artery on either side.
We have been an affiliate of MY MEDIC for close to a year and had already secured a discount for our readers of 15% utilizing the MY MEDIC promo code: HUNTINGLIFE15
Why MY MEDIC?
We encourage everyone to invest in a proper kit for your hunting pack, your home and one in each of your vehicles. Your life, the lives of those you love and the life of a stranger can all be saved within a matter of minutes because you were prepared with the right tools to help them. Once you get a good first aid kit, take the time to learn how to utilize it whether that is through a Red Cross First Aid Course, an online course like the one provided by MY MEDIC or a trauma course put on at your local gun range.
I carry the MY MEDIC Sidekick in my hunting pack with an additional tourniquet, an Emergency Pressure Bandage, Zzips and Chest Seals so that when I am in the field far from the vehicle, I have what I need to at least get back to the vehicle. In my hunting vehicle, I carry the MY FAK PRO and we carry that in our home as well. In my wife’s vehicle we carry the MY FAK MINI PRO. We have added some mods to some of these kits to make these kits our own and I encourage you to do the same. I can get a rash from bug bites quickly so we add Cortizone cream and Benadryl to each of our bags. You have to personalize these kits to your own needs and this is even encouraged by the team from MY MEDIC. These kits are a great starting point to keeping you and your family safe and are some of the best I have seen and used.
This experience was not the first time I have needed a first aid kit. Most of my friends and loved ones will tell you that it will not be the last time I will need a first aid kit. I am a proud member of the “Well Damn!” club. However as I get older, I am getting a little wiser and I will never not be prepared. Use our link to MY MEDIC and, most importantly, get a kit for yourself and for your friends and family. Break open the kit, lay it all out, learn all that it has to offer and make it yours. Oh, you can be assured, I didn’t almost cut off my leg just to sell you a First Aid Kit(FAK), but it should highlight that you might need one if you do dumb things occasionally like I do.
We have been an affiliate of MY MEDIC for close to a year and had already secured a discount for our readers of 15% utilizing the MY MEDIC promo code: HUNTINGLIFE15
Photos below show the reality of a blow to the leg with a sharp sharp ax. If you are easily upset my injury photos do not look at these photos.
