Blaine Shawler is a sophomore at Pella High School and is an employee at Four Seasons Yard Care in Pella. He has worked there for almost a year and is also a part of the Pella shooting team. During Christmas break, Shawler put in a lot of hours up until December 30. On the afternoon of December 30, his hand was caught in between a log and the log splitter while he was splitting wood for work. The splitter came down in between his pointer finger and his thumb, slicing them both.
“It hurt really bad, and as soon as I looked at it, I knew I needed help and needed to go to the hospital,” Shawler said.
His boss then brought him to the Pella Regional Hospital. He was bandaged up and transferred to Iowa City in an ambulance from there. He was in the hospital for 5 days until he was released to go home.
“The worst part of the hospital experience was not being able to do anything,” said Shawler. “I like to be outside and hang out with my friends and being in the hospital for 5 days sucks.”
During his hospital stay in Iowa City, Shawler’s thumb and pointer finger were reattached; however, at a follow-up appointment, they took off his cast and realized that they could not bring his two fingers back to life. He then had a surgery that amputated his thumb and his pointer finger. In spite of that setback, Shawler still plans on competing on the shooting team.
“It might be a little difficult at first with only 3 fingers supporting the gun, and the spot will probably be really tender for a while,” said Shawler. “It’s gonna be a challenge to adapt, but after a little bit of practice, it will be alright.”
Adjusting to this loss is a learning process. Many everyday things need to be done in a different way. For instance, Shawler has learned to put in his contacts using only one hand. He is optimistic about the future.
“I don’t think it’s really going to affect me too much,” said Shawley. “I’m learning to adapt and do things with one and a half hands. I think whatever I decide to do I will adapt and figure it out and not have too many problems.”
