Journal entry by Al Negstad — a minute ago
Fifth grade is easy, 6 boys and 6 girls, several sharp students and no behavior issues. The first teaching hour of my week was a breeze. Sixth grade is a bit more challenging mostly because there are 24 students, so keeping them all engaged can be an issue. Today all was going well with the students divided in two teams, boys and girls, working on English vocabulary. There were no behavior issues and all was flowing nicely until there was a bit of drama.
In this case I caused the drama. The vocabulary program gave word endings and the students were to supply the word. The ending the girls were working on was "_____ail". Examples would be "sail" and "email" which they quickly thought of. When they guessed "pail", I walked to the corner of the classroom to lift up a pail, as a teaching moment. When I reached for the pail my left forearm raked a screwhead which was protruding from the wall and it left 3.5" inch gash. It wasn't terribly deep but it bled rapidly creating a bit of scene in class.
The teachers washed it out with sterile water, rubbed in antibiotic and covered it with a sterile gauze pad. Go, the principal, drove me to the emergency room of the main hospital where I was brought in with no waiting. The wound was washed, trimmed and four stitches closed up part of it. The longer part was missing too much skin to be stitched. After it was carefully bandaged, I was given a tetanus booster, antibiotics and I was sent on my way. It has all been relatively painless and the anesthetic worked, unlike the time 12 years ago when I was sewed up in Laos.
When I had been treated I was brought to Go, who was in the emergency room waiting area. She told me to have a seat and left the room. She returned about a half hour later and took me to the cafeteria for lunch. While she was gone she had made all the arrangements for the school to pay for my care saying "You're a teacher, so the school will pay."...she bought my lunch, too.
Infection is the main concern but with the teachers first aid, the care in the emergency room and the antibiotics at home I'll likely be fine. The wound will be cleaned daily at the hospital so they, too, can watch for signs of infection.
As a friend once said "If all goes according to plan what is there to talk about?" It also gave the students a moment to remember. So, I'm deeply grateful for the care, from the students, teachers, principal and the emergency room staff. I am truly blessed and I'm fine!
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: my bandage, 2 views of the cafeteria, just after I post about only English on tee-shirts here is Nice with a Thai shirt. 😊
In this case I caused the drama. The vocabulary program gave word endings and the students were to supply the word. The ending the girls were working on was "_____ail". Examples would be "sail" and "email" which they quickly thought of. When they guessed "pail", I walked to the corner of the classroom to lift up a pail, as a teaching moment. When I reached for the pail my left forearm raked a screwhead which was protruding from the wall and it left 3.5" inch gash. It wasn't terribly deep but it bled rapidly creating a bit of scene in class.
The teachers washed it out with sterile water, rubbed in antibiotic and covered it with a sterile gauze pad. Go, the principal, drove me to the emergency room of the main hospital where I was brought in with no waiting. The wound was washed, trimmed and four stitches closed up part of it. The longer part was missing too much skin to be stitched. After it was carefully bandaged, I was given a tetanus booster, antibiotics and I was sent on my way. It has all been relatively painless and the anesthetic worked, unlike the time 12 years ago when I was sewed up in Laos.
When I had been treated I was brought to Go, who was in the emergency room waiting area. She told me to have a seat and left the room. She returned about a half hour later and took me to the cafeteria for lunch. While she was gone she had made all the arrangements for the school to pay for my care saying "You're a teacher, so the school will pay."...she bought my lunch, too.
Infection is the main concern but with the teachers first aid, the care in the emergency room and the antibiotics at home I'll likely be fine. The wound will be cleaned daily at the hospital so they, too, can watch for signs of infection.
As a friend once said "If all goes according to plan what is there to talk about?" It also gave the students a moment to remember. So, I'm deeply grateful for the care, from the students, teachers, principal and the emergency room staff. I am truly blessed and I'm fine!
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: my bandage, 2 views of the cafeteria, just after I post about only English on tee-shirts here is Nice with a Thai shirt. 😊
