Q Finally Sent Me To The ER

The Bite —Early on Saturday morning I attempted to give Q a bath. He was distracted by a towel I was going to use and did not care that my hand was attached to that towel when he jumped out of the tub and bit the towel. For a second I did not realize how bad it was, but when I saw my own blood I knew it was bad enough to need stitches. So I grabbed my stuff and headed to the car ... but I got dizzy and fell to the floor in the garage. Knowing I could not drive to the hospital I headed for the phone in the kitchen. On the way I fell again, knocking over my keyboard in the living room. I called 911 and while on the phone fell again in the dining room. By the time the paramedics arrived I was no longer dizzy so after they bandaged me up I drove myself to the hospital. Obviously I was in no mood to take a picture so the one above was taken 4 days later as the doctor prepared me for stitches.

The After ER Picture — The ER staff said they could not stitch me up because it was an animal bite and referred me to a hand specialist. They took x-rays and said Q had chipped my bone so they bandaged me up, shot me with some fantastic pain medication because I was in the worst pain of my life, and 2 hours later I was home with a prescription for powerful pain pills and antibiotics. I was told to take the antibiotics and if needed the wound could be stitched in a few days.

Stitched Finger — I went to the hand specialist on August 15, 2007 (first appointment I could get) and he was very upset that the ER left the wound open. He ripped the bandage off fast sending me into a painful dizzy mess of a state and I again started bleeding. I told him the tip of my finger was numb and he said Q got a nerve. So I don't know if that means I will never have feeling or that the nerve will heal and I will again feel my finger tip. But basically on the right side of the finger from my top knuckle to the tip I can't feel the finger. He gave me 6 stitches in his office and said he had never done stitches in his office before (he was not happy). He sent me home with instructions to take a pain pill right away because I would need it (and I took a whole - previously I had only taken a half).

I attempted to find a new home for Q but could not. I tried a locally known sanctuary which would have kept Q until he died if I had sponsored him (which I really wanted to do). But they would have put him into a cage with many other iguanas. Given what I knew about Wong (see horror stories section) I did not want to do this! So it is now June 4, 2008 and I still have him. Although he lost the great care and attention he was getting so his life is not as good. For example he has not gone outside into his nice outdoor cage since the incident and if he gets a bath I put him in a mesh laundry bag before he goes into the water

This picture shows what the bite location looks like today (almost one year later). As soon as I could I used Mederma by Merz (which is supposed to lessen the appearance of scars). I used it for about 3 months and it did work and the scar is not that noticeable now. Although some of the feeling did come back in my finger, it likely won't ever be back to normal. The hand surgeon said the nerve likely grew back through scar tissue so anytime I touch my finger or bend my finger it tingles (not a good feeling). I also have problems in the cold (luckily I live in Phoenix) and my finger gets stiff.

This last picture shows what the bite location looks like from the back of my hand (see bump on left). I do have full function in that finger now (after the accident I could not touch my finger tip to my palm when I bent my fingers) but I miss my normal finger.