A Trip to the ER for Me and a Quiz for You

This post may be a little short. I’m typing with one hand. At least it’s my dominant hand. My left is wrapped in a splint. I took a spill in the kitchen on Christmas day. Other than my hand, I suffered a few bumps and bruises, but all in all, I was pretty lucky. We didn’t even have to wait too long at the ER. Considering it was a holiday, it went quite well.

Emergency room sign

I fell over the dishwasher door, which opened just as I was walking past it. When my husband and I told others about my accident, they said they had almost tripped over their dishwasher too.

The door had been broken for a while and didn’t latch tight and I was afraid one of us might fall over it. In the movie Garden State the main character’s mother had been paralyzed when she fell backward over the dishwasher door which opened unexpectedly. Even though I mentioned this before my accident, I don’t think I really thought it could happen.

But were dishwashers a common cause of in-home accidents? After a search for dishwasher accidents in the home, I found that there was a danger of fires, scalding from steam, and contamination from fungus and black yeast sometimes found in the rubber seal of the door.

There was also mention of a freak accident where a woman died after she slipped and fell on the knives in the dishwasher which were loaded with the point up. Other dangerous appliances were space heaters, ranges, and toasters for their ability to cause fires.

It also made me think about Emergency Room (ER) visits. We were seen right away. I had an X-ray of my hand and a CT scan of my jaw pretty soon after we arrived, but then it took longer to see a doctor and to get a splint and be to leave. I wondered if my visit was typical and so I looked up statistics on ER visits and made a short quiz of what I found.

Have fun and be safe!

15 comments

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  1. Billie

    Yes!!!! OMG!!! Yesterday at work, while talking to someone & walking about I fall face first over the dishwasher, I didn’t think it was a big deal, bc I’d already fell over the one at my house!!! However, I’m online, the next day looking up people who’d fell into dishwashers…😂😂😂🤓

  2. Louisa

    Oh my goodness, I’m glad there is no lasting damage. My husband broke his wrist one Xmas day, trying to stop the cat eating the turkey! Having read your post I am glad that we don’t have a dish washer, they sound pretty hazardous #mmbc

  3. Leiloni Schulz

    We almost always have our dishwasher open, and I still run into it. I am sorry that your Christmas had to be spent in the ER. I am sure that you were super sore the next day! I hope that you heal soon!

  4. Karen DeBonis

    Oh Dear! Glad you are on the mend. I’m going to be more careful about leaving my dishwasher door open – thanks for the heads up.!

  5. barb

    Goodness, Cathy, I’m glad you’re still in one piece, though damaged. Take care and Happy New Year and get that dishwasher door fixed!!!

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