Devin's cut finger

Mike called me at work this afternoon and asked when I was done working because he had received a call that Devin got her finger stuck in a hole and got cut and they think she needs stitches. I couldn't get away from work at that moment, so he arranged to get her picked up and took her to the clinic. In the meantime, I called the teacher to ask how bad it was, to which she said it was pretty bad.

Mike got her picked up and took her in. He told me it was bad. She had stuck her finger in a small hole on a basketball hoop pole and then someone turned the hoop which caused her finger to be cut in a perfect circle. There should have been a bolt or a screw or something inside that hole, but it was open, so when the hoop turns, the hole essentially gets blocked off by the inside pole. Except this time, Devin's finger was in the hole and got pretty mangled.

Devin ended up getting 6 stitches in her finger. Even after being bandaged up it still continued to bleed. It has stopped at this point, so that's good. She's been in quite a bit of pain and didn't eat her supper. I will be taking her back to the doctor on Friday morning because he wants to see her again.

We went back to the school after Mike was done at the clinic to see what exactly happened. We were told that the janitor was going to find something to go in that hole right away, whether it be a bolt or screw or something. The director of the after school program talked to the principal about insurance because I had questioned who would be paying for the medical bills? My theory is it happened during the after school program, which we pay for, so they should have some type of insurance to cover accidents and liabilities like this. Well she didn't know the answer either, so now the Superintendent has been emailed.

I understand that sporting events are not covered when accidents happen, but when something happens to my child when I am paying for them to keep them safe, I would expect them to cover the bill. It will be a battle to get the answer we want, I suspect, but I do plan to investigate further and not back down. I questioned why that old basketball hoop is even there. And then to hear other people say that they have seen that very hole before and didn't do anything about it really strikes me as odd.

In the meantime, we will continue to take care of Devin and get her finger healed. Hopefully the pain and long term effects are minimal.