Tetanus Shots

People get tetanus shots to avoid tetanus, an infectious disease that can cause severe spasms in the area of the neck and jaw. 

People can become infected with tetanus when they get a puncture wound.

I think Husband and I should own stock in pharmaceutical companies that produce tetanus shots.

I’m remembering  what happened last week and the wound on Husband’s left hand. That’s where he jabbed a screwdriver as he attempted to open a can of paint.

“Look here,” he calmly said as the weapon stood embedded in his flesh.

Oldest Daughter came running as she yelled over her shoulder, “Good night, Dad! I can see muscle and tendons. Mom! Grab some bandages and antibacterial ointment.”

After we bandaged it, we insisted on taking him to Minor Emergency. As I drove, he admitted, “This hurts.”

The Doctor agreed Husband needed stitches and a tetanus shot.

So what’s the big deal, you might ask.

This is his second tetanus shot in the past three years or less.

This time it was the screwdriver. The one before that was a power tool he sliced through an index finger.

Back in his office days he often came home with deep cuts I would see the masking tape on his finger. “What did you do this time?”

“Sliced my finger with an Exacto Knife.”

“Do the nurses ever give you tetanus shot?” I once asked.

“No,” was all he said as he gazed back with a blank expression.

I know he is not really accident-prone; he just doesn’t pay close attention. He goes about certain tasks with a part of his mind in other places.

It’s a lifelong practice.  Once he told me, “Dad had these boards in the backyard with two-inch nails jutting out.  I stepped on one and drove the nail up into my foot.”

“Did you have on shoes?”

“Yep, tennis shoes.”

“Thank goodness for that. What did your mom do?” I asked, thinking how I would panic if that happened with one of my kids.

“I already pulled my foot off the nail. She bandaged it and said ‘Get in the car’ with a commanding voice. Off we went to the doctor’s office. Mom was a person of the moment. She seldom panicked.”

“How old were you?”

“Seven. That’s the first time I remember getting a tetanus shot.”

“The first time?”  My mind filled with pictures of monthly visits for shots.

“The next time I was about 10 and taking apart a dog house. I smacked the wood, and a piece of nail landed in my arm just above this artery.  Blood spurted straight up. I put my finger on it to keep it from bleeding.

Mom was at the store.”

“What? “ I raised my voice. “You mean she wasn’t home?”

“No, I sat down with my elbow bent and my finger on the hole. When she came in, I said, ‘Hey, mom look at this.” I took my finger off the hole, and there was the geyser effect again. ‘Get in the car,’ she commanded, and off we went to Doctor Morgan’s. He was impressed that I knew what to do at such a young age.”

“You seem to think that is the most notable part of the story.”

“Well, it is. Here, you can still see the scar.”

“Don’t you ever think you are dangerous to yourself?”

“Don’t bind me with your words,”  he admonished me.

“What do you mean? You know all these cuts and shots frighten me. I am sincerely concerned. Was that the last tetanus you got until we married?”

“When I was 14, my brother, sister, and I were in a car wreck,”  he said pointing to a scar on his forehead.  “I don’t remember if I got a shot then.”

“I do know that was one time when mom panicked.”

I merely looked at him, thinking how fortunate it was he had not been killed in the accident, but I still worry the fatal blow will someday be related to the way he injures himself with a tool.