Back Pain

Well another largely uneventful weekend.  Had fun on Friday night - after work cocktails with Shelly, Dougie, and Alison.  It rained off-and-on all weekend...went for a walk on the Mendenhall River Trail - chased a few birdies around the bushes for awhile - but no pics that are blogworthy.

The big news, of course, is the demise of the man every American loved to hate - our nemesis Osama.  It appears that the Navy Seals were called on to deal with him and did so in their trademark fashion.  Excellent.

Of course there are many unanswered questions the most interesting centering around what the Pakistani government, military or intelligence service knew about Osama's whereabouts and when did they know it.  With friends like Pakistan, one cannot afford too many enemies...

Indeed I was contemplating this weighty matter last evening after President Obama's address when the phone rang.  Aunt Emilie calling...and in a quite chipper frame-of-mind...which is somewhat odd given the story she had to tell.

Like most of the denizens of Evergreen Avenue auntie had attended the memorial service for her neighbor, George Rogers, at Centennial Hall.  Auntie got all gussied-up sporting a brand new pantsuit, and in keeping with the nature of the festivities, she donned her somber black coat.  Off to Centennial Hall.

Upon taking her seat at the memorial auntie began to experience discomfort in her lower back which she naturally attributed to a tag or other encumbrance on her new pantsuit.  The discomfort eventually reached a point where she asked an Evergreen Avenue neighbor, Mary Ann, to accompany her to the powder room to see if the problem could be identified and rectified.

At this point the story takes a somewhat unexpected, no, make that bizarre, twist.  Mary Ann apparently had no difficulty identifying the problem - a large sewing needle sticking into auntie's back.  Like several inches into her back.  Easy to see why this would cause some measure of discomfort.  

Now Mary Ann is a very sensible and sober person - so not surprisingly she immediately identified a sensible and sober course of action.  She had noted the presence of a person she knew to be a nurse in the audience and went out to fetch her.  The nurse arrived.  Observed the needle.  And suggested they summon a retired doctor who happened to also be in the audience.  By this time there was apparently a fairly good sized crowd in the powder room offering consolation and advice.

The doc was duly summoned and after a quick examination concluded that the powder room at Centennial Hall was not the optimal location for removing a large sewing needle from auntie's back.  The hospital emergency room was suggested as an alternative.

So...Aunt Emilie and Mary Ann sortie to the hospital.  According to Emilie, the hospital staff - always on the lookout for novel and amusing injuries - were quite impressed with the now fully embedded needle.  A type of puncture wound apparently not previously known in these here parts.

The needle was removed, auntie bandaged, x-rayed, and given a prescription of antibiotics.  She was also  instructed to return immediately to the ER if she experienced any signs of discomfort - like the kind of discomfort one would associate with a punctured lung, for example.   Auntie agreed and Mary Ann took her home at which point she called me.

And now for the rest of the story...  It seems that several months ago auntie had been attempting to repair her black coat and was interrupted in mid-process.  She forgot about the whole repair thing.  Imagine that.  Upon close examination there was not ONE but THREE sewing needles embedded in the garment. 

Amazing!