One ringy-dingy
Aug 11, 2008 12:51 PM, By Jeff Ryan
I hopped on my four-wheeler and got the waddling escapees back with the rest of the herd. A quick ride around the perimeter of the pasture revealed that some birds had sat on an insulated wire that connected the power supply to my electric fence. Sitting on it would be one thing. Pecking at it and disconnecting the wire is an entirely different matter. No current flow, no convincing argument to stay in the pasture. Some cows seem to be able to smell when a fence isn’t working. At least, I don’t think they’ve been studying wiring diagrams in their spare time when I’m not watching. Fate doesn’t play that dirty.
I got the fence problem corrected and a large flow of current returned to the perimeter fence. Then I went back to the house to check my blood sugar and eat breakfast. Potential driving liability prevents me from saying how low the number was on my blood glucose meter when I got home. I didn’t break my all-time low of 18, but it was closer to 18 than it was to 100.
As I stuffed my face with Zingers — The Breakfast of Hypoglycemic Diabetic Champions — I began to realize that my foot was really starting to hurt. This wasn’t aspirin pain, or Advil pain. This was trip-to-the-ER-on-a-Saturday-to-get-the-good-stuff kind of pain. What would my mother say if I showed up at the hospital straight from the task of rounding up cattle and doing some fence work? She would not be impressed with the kid she raised, that’s what she’d think. So I took a shower and got dressed up. Knowing my luck, if I went straight to the hospital from the scene of the incident, the word would somehow get to her and she’d be there in the waiting room already to let me know how bad I looked.
Once inside the ER, I explained my situation to the guy at the desk. He asked if I needed a wheelchair, which I declined. Then he had me take a seat to wait for my nurse. Fate saw another chance to take a jab at me. The nurse on duty was my neighbor. Why keep my situation under the radar?
She came in and went over my case. As soon as I told her what happened, and why the phone call I missed was so important, I knew what was coming next. “Your cows got out? Well, we always try to schedule that during weddings!”
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