Here are some Independence Day mishaps that really happened in the emergency room ....
Firecrackers and cake.
Some years ago, a Fourth of July prank led to a trip to the emergency room for a group of teenagers in New York City. During a party, the teens decorated a cake with sparklers for their Independence Day celebration. However, one of the sparklers was actually a firecracker ...
According to the E.R. physician, after the blast, the group of teens took an Uber to the emergency room, where they were treated for minor injuries such as facial abrasions and a ruptured eardrum. When they arrived at the hospital, they were covered in the cake along with red, white, and blue icing, because they didn't think to stop and wipe it off before they left. Luckily, no one suffered injuries to their eyes because they were all wearing googles as they were planning to spray each other with champagne after they "lit" the cake.
Pistols and Saggy Britches.
An E.R. nurse tells another story of the year she had a GSW victim from a fireworks stand. The victim was a big, young Southern dude, and he was the owner of the stand. He was showing people around, restocking the tables, etc. He had a pistol in the right pocket of his jeans instead of a holster. Apparently, he didn't wear a belt that day and his jeans started falling as he walked. So, he went to "hitch up his britches," grabbing his jeans while simultaneously putting his finger through the trigger guard, pulling his pants up, and firing a 9mm round into his thigh. Luckily, he missed his femoral artery, but he did break his femur. There's a fourth he'll never forget!
Alcohol and bad choices.
Another E.R. nurse shares the time when three people from a rollover MVA showed up in the E.R. on the 4th of July. The backseat passenger was drunk and thought it would be funny to light off multiple fireworks in the car while they were driving. The driver, understandably startled, swerved, then overcorrected and flipped the car. The occupants of the vehicle came in with a combination of burns and ortho injuries (along with the drunk idiot from the backseat).
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Published by Jennifer Tipton / This post may contain affiliate links.