The price of victory!

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Dennis

I have come to learn that sailing with a medical doctor as crew is not all it is "cracked" up to be. Last month a doctor friend crewed with me for the big race. Not to long into the race I went forward to set the preventer for a down wind run. Well, as we sometimes do stupid things, I got up from my crouched position and smacked my head on the underside of the boom. I saw stars but did not lose consciousness. I shook it off and a minute or so later felt blood rushing down my face. I went below and had a big mess. I went back on deck and asked the doc to check me out. He said, "I can't see anything." Relying on his professional diagnosis, I went back down, put some paper towels on my head and pulled my hat down tight. The bleeding finally stopped and two hours later we finished the race - in first place! An hour later my wifey arrived at the marina and I asked her to check out my wound. Her unprofessional opinion was we needed to visit a hospital. Well she was right and the five staples I received confirmed her opinion. I guess the moral of the story is a doctor may not be the healthiest crew for the skipper! Or, a doctor knows his priorities and why fix a wound and ruin a race when it can be fixed 5 hours later.
 
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ss

what kind of Dr.

The type of Dr. is important, was he a protologist or an ER physician? Worse yet, was he a Dr. of psychology or a professional student with a PHD in basket weaving? Sometimes a good boy scout is better than a crappy "Doctor".
 
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Harvey Small

In defense...

In defense of the doctor, hopefully he had determined that there was no skull fracture or life-threatening neurological problem. But fairly minor scalp wounds can bleed a lot. There's no layer of muscle in the scalp to pinch off capillaries -- the same reason you need to wear a hat to stay warm in cold weather.
 
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