'It cost Kyle $200 and an 'I told you so'': Guy chickens out of a DIY fishing injury hack from his experienced brother-in-law, pays the price at the emergency room instead

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jul 24, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

In America, one upside to having subpar healthcare coverage is that you get really good at taking care of minor scrapes, bruises, and breaks. For many of us, a trip to the emergency room is truly a last resort and would never be considered unless your life is on the line. However, the man in our next story, was willing to rush into the arms of a pricey hospital at the drop of a hat, never considering that his experienced brother-in-law had the perfect health hack to save him. 

On a boy's trip into the wilderness, these two men gathered for the sake of their wives. With almost nothing in common, they agreed to get to know each other a little better since their wives were sisters, so these in-laws took to the lake to get in some quality time together over a fishing rod and some fresh brewskies. Their little bonding trip took a turn for the worse when one of the guys got a fishing hook lodged in his thumb. Horrified at the spike jutting from his finger, he fearfully screamed for his bro-in-law to take him to the ER immediately! Little did he know, this experienced fisherman had mended his fair share of fishing hook injuries over the years and was prepared to perform backwoods surgery on the thumb to save him the trouble. 

He refused, insisting on getting rushed to the emergency room. 

After a procedure that went down exactly how his brother-in-law intended to take care of the wound, the guy was branded a chicken and received a  whopping 'I told you so' from his new favorite bro alongside a hefty hospital bill. Keep scrolling to read the entire story of a summer boy's trip gone wrong and a funny memory that'll last a lifetime.

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  • 01
    Take You to the ER for something I can fix for free? Okay...
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 02
    This is a story my dad told me a while ago about one of the outings he had with his brother in-law, we'll call Kyle, many years ago. He didn't provide too many details, but it's just enough to share this story.
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 03
    For context, my dad and my uncle Kyle were very different people. My dad was very much a DIYer who learned a lot about how to try to fix things himself and what to do if something happens with tools, like nails, hammers, fishing hooks, etc. My
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 04
    uncle Kyle was the opposite. He was one of those people who just paid other people to do things for him or just complain when he couldn't get his way. Basically, never let other people tell him what to do if they weren't trained professionals.
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 05
    One day, my dad and Uncle Kyle went on a fishing trip because my mom and aunt wanted them to hang out more and get some "bonding time" in. They didn't really have much in common except for their wives being sisters and having kids of their own.
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 06
    During this, uncle Kyle somehow managed to get a fishing hook through his thumb with the end of it poking out. Uncle Kyle started screaming and rocking the boat, yelling "THIS HURTS SO MUCH! CALL AN AMBULANCE!! NOW!!"
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 07
    My dad said "you know, I know how to get that hook out of a finger, it happened to me before. What you need to do is get a pair of pliers and cut the hook part off and pull it out of your--"
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 08
    Kyle: "I DON'T CARE! I'M INJURED!! TAKE ME INLAND, FIND A PAY PHONE, AND CALL AN AMBULANCE!!"
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 09
    Dad: "Are you sure? I have the tools to--" Kyle: "NOWWWWWW!" Dad: "Well, if you insist."
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 10
    So Dad rowed the boat to shore, found a pay phone, and my uncle Kyle called for directions to the nearest ER. My dad drove them both there and my dad waited patiently in the waiting room for uncle Kyle to come out. Not ten
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 11
    minutes later, uncle Kyle came out with a bandage on his thumb and a scowl on his face (which was pretty much his resting face). Before the doctor went back to his area, my dad went up and asked him how they got the hook out. Turns out they did
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 12
    exactly what my dad was going to do: cut the spikes off the end of the hook and pull the thing out slowly. The only difference was that it cost my uncle Kyle $200 and an "I told you so" from my
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 13
    dad. My dad said that after that, they never did any solo trips ever again. My uncle blamed my dad for the whole ordeal, even though he was the one putting the hook on the line (he was fine, he just complained about everything).
    via HeidiHole1234
  • 14
    Lay-ZFair 2d ago Your Dad should have told him he'd do it for 50 dollars since your uncle only trusted people he had to pay it seems. Of course if he'd taken a picture of your uncle with the hook in him he could have told your aunt, look what I caught!
    via Lay-ZFair
  • 15
    rdking647 • 2d ago obviously this was a long time ago. today instead of 200 it would cost 2k
    via rdking647
  • 16
    HisExcellencyAndrejK 2d ago I dunno. I expect that the ER service included a bit more disinfectant, perhaps some antibiotics, and -- I would hope local anesthesia?
    via HisExcellencyAndrejK
  • 17
    That said, uncle was lucky that dad drove him to ER rather than maliciously complying and calling the ambulance. That would have cost $$ that likely wouldn't have been covered by insurance.
    via HisExcellencyAndrejK
  • 18
    greenpill98 .2d ago I'm no fisherman. In fact, I'm a lot like Uncle Kyle in general. I don't like doing things myself if I'm not knowledgeable, and prefer professionals that I trust have some expertise. But the solution to a hook through the thumb seems pretty intuitive.
    via greenpill98
  • 19
    Cut off the hooked end, extract the rest, disinfect and wrap, go to doc if it gets infected. Done deal. Why this had to be an emergency ER trip beats me unless he was prone to infections or the hook was really dirty.
    via greenpill98
  • 20
    Terrible-Image9368 • 2d ago $200 is a steal for the ER. It would be $2000 minimum where I live
    via Terrible-Image9368
  • 21
    Arandur 2d ago How do you go fishing and not know how to get a fishing hook out of your finger? That was one of the first things I learned in Boy Scouts. Mind, I'd still have panicked if it had happened to me, but still!
    via Arandur
  • 22
    pocapractica • 1d ago My second husband took my dad fishing twice. Did not get to fish much himself bc he spent so much time getting my dad's line out of trees and everything else, both above and below the water. There was no third trip.
    via pocapractica
  • 23
    Dohn Joggett 1d ago Aye, this is one of those "grew up fishing" and "didn't grow up fishing" sort of stories. Like, every freshwater tackle box has the tool to cut that hook and even if it doesn't, for some reason, you just drive them to the ER yourself instead of calling an ambulance.
    via Dohn Joggett
  • 24
    Western-Ad-4330 1d ago My friend pierced his ear with a treble hook spinner that was stuck in reeds until he yanked it out and came flying towards him. He just cut the line and had a fancy earing for a while until we got pliers out of the car later on.
    via Western-Ad-4330

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