ROPE AMPUTATES CANOEIST’S FINGER

 Steve Thomas, a veteran canoeist and rescue instructor who popularized “the Steve Thomas Rope  Trick,” had his finger amputated by a rope loop inside his canoe in April 1992. This loop, made of one-quarter-inch rope and attached to the thwart ahead of him, was used to help  manage his canoe during portages. Working his way down a slippery slope to the put-in, he felt the footing was uncertain and dropped the canoe to the ground. His right hand, however, did not clear the loop. The rope found a “pinch point” on his ring finger just behind the nail, up against the wooden gunwale. The tip of his finger, bone and all, was torn off except for about one-quarter inch of tissue!

His group administered first aid and drove him to the University of North Carolina hospital. The surgeon removed the nail, reattached the finger with thirty to forty stitches, then replaced the nail. Thomas was expected to recover full use of his finger in about four weeks.

 SOURCE: Les Fry in Coastal CaNews

EDITOR’S NOTE: Rope loops, especially when wet, can inflect truly nasty injuries. Paddlers are advised to keep their body parts outside bends, coils, or loops in the rope.