Don’t try this at home

Southside man Ralph Kark has an old wives’ tale he tells about an Irish pilot who waved farewell to his wife from a helicopter.

SOUTHSIDE man Ralph Kark has an old wives' tale he tells about an Irish pilot who waved farewell to his wife from his helicopter - his wife ended up catching his hand.

Ralph's experience with a ceiling fan on Tuesday wasn't quite as dramatic, but it was pretty icky, he will tell you.

The 80-year-old was standing on a swivel chair to clean the insect spots off his deck ceiling when he lost his concentration for a moment.

The bottom of his hand was caught by the ceiling fan; the metal blades slicing through to the bone.

It wasn't long before Ralph's wife Gail was on the scene and driving Ralph to Gympie Hospital's emergency department.

With the blade taking a piece out of the bone, Ralph was transferred to the University of the Sunshine Coast Hospital for surgery, where a plate and screw were fixed in the hand.

Ralph observed the patience needed by not only by hospital patients in these situations, but also medical staff.

After a run-in with a spider and a stinging succulent in the last 18 months, Ralph had become a repeat customer at the hospital.

He praised the professional care he received at both hospitals this week, which helped the experience to be as pleasant as possible.

Now he needs to wait for the swelling to subside before he starts therapy on the hand.

He will also have to wait a while before he can return to his much-loved gardening and painting.

And his advice to people who want to clean their deck ceiling?

"Switch the fan off first, and stand on a ladder, not a swivel chair - especially when you're 80."