This article was first published in Sweep Stuff magazine earlier this year.
The glove on her hand guiding the rods into the chimney had caught and wound itself around the spinning rod. Powerful things those drills and now the glove and Melanie’s damaged fingers were well and truly trapped. It took several minutes to release everything and reveal that this was a serious injury.
Mel said: ‘I got the glove off but at that point I wasn’t actually sure my fingers tops were still attached. In the photo I had straightened them because when I un-wound my fingers they were pointing at 90 degrees. Removing the glove with my hand squeezed between my legs squared them up, but bones were out on three of them’.
Professional to the end, Melanie even removed the sweeping rods from the chimney and ensured the stove was ready to use before heading off in the ambulance (it was January after all, and you can’t just leave a customer without their fire).
Examination and X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the dislocations were serious. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and the pictures of Mel’s hands tell it all.
The most painful part of treatment was still to come when medical staff administered the nerve blocks to all 3 knuckles, two injections in each.
She said, ‘My goodness that was tough, they had to close the door to the treatment room, and I really hope there were no younger children within earshot. Now some weeks on and things are steadily improving. I can’t hold a fork or make a fist, but I have (very gently and after medical guidance) swept a couple of chimneys. So far so good.
Mel told us, ‘It was all my fault really, had I been using a rod guard or double checked the clutch on the drill was still set correctly, it just couldn’t have happened. I hope my story will serve as a warning to others to help avoid such an injury, personally I feel the only 100% safe solution when power sweeping is to always use a rod guard.
Massive thanks to everyone who donated to a funding page for me, it was so kind. It has taken the financial worry out of the next couple of months and allowed me to concentrate on exercises, physio etc. Thanks also to my excellent local sweep colleagues who are helping out with my customers that were already booked in. This has taken a great amount stress off me, reducing the temptation for me to do more than I should too soon
Since the accident I’ve looked into insurance costs that might cover a bit of income should something like this happen and I couldn’t work. Seems that for about £50.00 per month premium I would be covered for about 70% of my usual monthly income for up to 2 years, worth considering, I think.
