Garage safety - Please take a second to read

[jay weinstein]

benny..good luck with the eye injury and very informative story to share jw

[mk1]

Thanks for posting your story Benny.

We all tinker about with dangerous stuff & it is always good for us all to be pulled up & reminded just how dangerous our hobby can be.

I am really pleased to hear that your prognosis is good & sincerely hope that you make a full & speedy recovery.

Always good to get into the habit of wearing eye & ear protection as soon as you enter the garage or workshop.

M

[solomorris]

I'm sorry speedy recovery.
Accidents happen when we become aware of the value of our life.

[Benny]

Thanks for all the well wishes, guys. It sounds like my story caught the attention of a few people....so, as I mentioned, if this saves a couple of people from a similar accident, I'm happy.

I went back to the doctor yesterday, and it was all positive news. He doesn't want to see me again for another month, which is fine by me! After 2 weeks off work, He cleared me to go back on Friday. He says my cornea is healing up very well, and may not need the transplant from a donor eye.

One part of the 2nd surgery that I misunderstood was when he removed the cataract, he also had to remove the inner lens, so instead of 2 lenses, I'm currently operating with only 1. It is possible that he can "fool" my eye with the use of a hard contact lense, or the other option will be to surgically implant an artificial lens.....the choice will be mine depending on my appetite for risk, and for more surgery. But first, I have to wait another month to get these annoying stitches out of my eye

[InimiaD]

Nasty injury Benny. I wish you a full recovery.
What seemed like an innocuous little task turned out to be so potentially harmful.

I too have had to visit A&E to extract steel from my eye, but even today I sometimes "forget" to put my goggles on. I for one should know better.

[66S]

Thinking about how this particular accident happened, I am in the habit of shrouding the end of the item being cut with my hand. I seem to recall this was how we were trained to do it.

Al

[Benny]

Thinking about how this particular accident happened, I am in the habit of shrouding the end of the item being cut with my hand. I see to recall this was how ere were trained to do it.

I did shroud the part being cut, but when I wasn't able to cut through it on the first attempt, I bent the pin back and forth just a bit, and it shot between my thumb and forefinger.

It's not worth trying to retroactively analyze these situations as if we can somehow "out fox" these incidents by saying I could have done this differently, or I could have done that differently...I should have been wearing glasses, and then I wouldn't be sitting here, typing this.

[wolseley 1000]

have been to the hospital two times to get some iron splinters drilled out of my eyes, will never forget to use glasses again !!!!

[rich@minispares.com]

well


ever since I read this post of bennys, ive been pretty good in the garage, wearing goggles etc.

thanks to my ebola-esqe flesh destroying excma I have to wear gloves anytime im doing anything so, so I look a bit of a health and safety numptie with my gloves, ear defenders and goggles, but safety first eh kids?


so, Saturday night I was doing a bit on my 1990's uber classic Peugeot 205 diesel (bit of a change from a mini )

I was wire wheeling something or other when I felt a stab in my arm, I looked down and one of the coarse wires had flung its self out the cup brush and dug its self into my pulse. it was pretty far in (at least 3/4" ) and I had to use a set of snippers to pull it out.........


ive now got this quality bruise........





it smarts a bit!

[Tim]

Ouch, glad you can still laugh about it!

Tim

[KA2S4]

Rotary wire brushes have a lot to answer for.

[mk1]

Isn't it amazing what rubbish some people can come up with to cover up their hopeless addiction to injectable narcotics



I always say steer clear of hairy cups, particularly if they are spinning at a great rate of knots & not around a pole /:-0

M

[Smiffy]

Rusty wire brush = septicemia hope your tetanus us up to date bud

[Benny]

well


ever since I read this post of bennys, ive been pretty good in the garage, wearing goggles etc.

Glad to hear it, Rich....I don't even walk my dogs without glasses since my accident.

Just as a quick update on my situation, I've continued to be very fortunate, and have not had any more surgeries since the one 7 days after my accident. I lived for about 4 months with 20/250 vision in my right eye, which put me firmly in the "legally blind" classification. After getting my cornea stitches removed at about the 3 month point, we were able to start experimenting with contact lenses. I now wear a very specialized 'soft' contact that has restored my vision to approximately 20/25. My cornea beat all the odds, and healed with only moderate scarring, which barely affects my vision.

I still do not have a lens in my right eye, which means I have a fixed focus (think carburetor vs. your fuel injection), so the contact lens is spec'd to give me a good compromise across a wide range. It will be my choice as to whether to have another surgery to implant a lens, but at this point, I may just live with a contact lens to avoid the risks of surgery.

I still have fairly severe light sensitivity caused by the damage to my iris, and this will never get better, so I now wear sunglasses when outside between dawn and dusk. There are other potential complications that I could face down the road, but with a bit of luck, I'll remain fairly normal for a long, long time.....just one of those tough life lessons, I guess.

[bpirie1000]

And some folks say mini only damage bank accounts.....

Nice post folks and speedy recovery to all..

When I was sanding my mk1 I didn't have finger prints for about a week....that's all I can think of at the moment...(poor compared to some on here)

Still less painful than the wife moaning in my ear "you spend to much time with that car"