- Jul 20, 2014
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I was going into 9th grade and at summer FB practice. The back story is my neighbor had the exact mower I had the big problem with. I used their mower all the time in their business. A great big Snapper mower with a belt that went out over the pan around the pulley and back to the engine. Well, my football coach, Charlie Roberts (played FB for the gators early sixties) told me to put the mower away in this little storage room. It would not go through the door so I thought it may back in. The blade had to engage to go in reverse so I did it. But the belt was slipping and would not engage. Sooooooo I grabbed the belt to help it. BLAMMMMMMMM!!! It grabbed my hand and pulled it back to the engine pulley. Crushing my three middle fingers on my right hand. The meat was gone from my middle finger to the first joint. Trish ran to the coaches house (a block away) and he came and got me for a ride to Shand sin Gville from Newberry where we were. I had a big towel all bloody wrapped around it. The year was 1969. Shands was called the J Hillis Miller Medical Center then. Half way to Gainesville it began to rain and coach's windshield wipers didnt work...............BLAMMMMMM!!!! We rear ended someone. His first words to me were "the wipers were working," I nodded my head.
Well, two old ladies said they would carry me on to the hospital. We got to I-175 and the pulled into a gas station and said that was a far as they could go. Two young fellas took me on to the hospital where the put me in a room with hand in some white liquid. Nothing for pain yet and hurt like a MOFO.......imagine the tactile nerves in your finger tips just chopped of. Finally, after what seemed hours the doc came in and I got novocaine in the fingers. Heaven had arrived. I could hear the snipping the bone down so they could sew it over.
And now the rest of the story (my first sports highlight)
I could not play for four games. I had a big bandage and it got infected and took awhile to heal. It was actually helpful as I had nasty blisters on both feet from shtty shoes they gave us young guys. Old cleats that were metal that came through the souls (i had no inserts). Could hardly walk. Finally, I get to play in game five. Im the center on punts and start at tight end. Im 9th grade on the varsity. We take the bus to Interlachen on at 0-4. We even stop at a Gville drug store to get the small plastic guard to tape over my finger. In the first half of my first game I catch 5 passes and two for TDs. We win our first game. The nutty thing was he didnt video the game (film back the) and he filmed ALL games. Even worse the Sun didnt have the story and they were great on HS foootball back them We always watched film on Mondays..........
My other two stories are basketball related...........but not nearly as dramatic or medical. Maybe the first one.
Well, two old ladies said they would carry me on to the hospital. We got to I-175 and the pulled into a gas station and said that was a far as they could go. Two young fellas took me on to the hospital where the put me in a room with hand in some white liquid. Nothing for pain yet and hurt like a MOFO.......imagine the tactile nerves in your finger tips just chopped of. Finally, after what seemed hours the doc came in and I got novocaine in the fingers. Heaven had arrived. I could hear the snipping the bone down so they could sew it over.
And now the rest of the story (my first sports highlight)
I could not play for four games. I had a big bandage and it got infected and took awhile to heal. It was actually helpful as I had nasty blisters on both feet from shtty shoes they gave us young guys. Old cleats that were metal that came through the souls (i had no inserts). Could hardly walk. Finally, I get to play in game five. Im the center on punts and start at tight end. Im 9th grade on the varsity. We take the bus to Interlachen on at 0-4. We even stop at a Gville drug store to get the small plastic guard to tape over my finger. In the first half of my first game I catch 5 passes and two for TDs. We win our first game. The nutty thing was he didnt video the game (film back the) and he filmed ALL games. Even worse the Sun didnt have the story and they were great on HS foootball back them We always watched film on Mondays..........
My other two stories are basketball related...........but not nearly as dramatic or medical. Maybe the first one.