We received an email from Coconut Commando who is currently enjoying an extended, (extended again) all inclusive vacation package to Iraq. CC responded to the article Damsel’s Boo Boo with this advice for gardening apparel when working around thorny vegetation:
I’ve had the same experience with the same palm type as well as Sagal Palms and Elephant Grass. If you’re dealing with these, a denim jacket plus a BDU top seems to work enough to stop the ripping of flesh but you still get the puncture. Do they know Damsel by her first name at the ER?
Actually, Damsel and another woman needed sutures that day. The nurses didn’t refer to them by their names but as “palm tree” and “dog bite,” respectively. That made us laugh.
The stitches come out tomorrow.
Update: Latest healing progress (don’t look if stitches creep you out).
Update: Stitches are out!
Damsel wanted to make sure that people are warned about the potential danger of the Mexican fan palm tree’s thorns. Last Saturday, she brushed past a pruned frond stem and ripped her forearm. There was obviously not going to be a home-remedy first-aid resolution to the injury, so we went to the emergency room to get some help. They stitched it up and sent us home several hours later.
